Breakaway
by kaytee1588
Summary: Formerly: Family History. Kaitlyn Jessica Lydecker is one of Donald Lydecker's two children. At 15 she's breaking out of her good girl mold, with help from an X5...
1. Never Again UPDATED

**Gillette, Wyoming, 2008**

It was nearing 1 am as Donald Lydecker sat in his dark, dingy, government issue office. He worked long hours, often late into the night. He squinted his eyes as he stared at the computer monitor. The only sound in the room was his fingers drumming on the desk.

This was far from being an unusual scene at this hour. It was so common in fact that eyebrows were only raised when he wasn't at his desk this late. At 33 years old he was a dedicated employee who was passionate about his work, even if it was a top secret government project. He enjoyed his time at Manticore, he liked the challenge. The one thing that kept him going day after day was the enormous amount of potential his X5s had. The possibilities with the newest X series were endless and with the right amount of training they could do anything.

While the X series had become his passion, his family had become forgotten and that was the way he wanted it. Most of his fellow employees didn't even realize he had children or a wife for that matter. He kept his personal business to himself. The rare times when he did speak or think about his family his emotions would show, leaving him vulnerable. He avoided this at all costs, and buried everything deep inside.

His wife, was buried in a cemetery about a 10 minute drive from his home in downtown Gillette. She had died around 30 minutes after giving birth to their second child and first daughter, Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was now about 5 years old, give or take a few months. He hadn't seen her since the day she was born, October 30, 2003. There was also Brandon, he was 9 years old now. He visited his wife's grave more than he visited his own children. _They are better off without me._

He knew that he had probably scared his son for life by abandoning him, but he didn't care, he hardly ever did. _The sooner Brandon realizes life isn't a fairytale, the better._ Lydecker knew his outlook on things was grim, but it was realistic, life was far from easy. He had learned that the hard way with his wife's death.

He married his wife Jessica Ashley Lydecker not long after high school. They had been young, but he had been so in love that he had to make her his. They lived a peaceful life for several years, he served his time in the army, she took classes at the local college and took care of the small apartment they lived in. Three years into their marriage she broke the news to him she was pregnant, they had both been ecstatic to add another member to their family. They bought a house, and settled down.

Brandon arrived two weeks early. He had been so happy to have a son, Jessica had been over the moon with joy. As Brandon had grown over the years he saw himself in his son. It wasn't just his blonde hair and blue eyes, but his facial expressions and his personality. He couldn't believe how much parents passed on to their children, even after years of reading about genetics.

Three years after Brandon was born, Jessica found out she was pregnant again. They had been to excited this time to wait and find out if it was a boy or a girl. Several weeks later they found out they were having a little girl. Lydecker plastered a smile on his face that remained there for months. He would have his own baby girl to love and cherish. He secretly hoped she would take after her mother, so Jessica could have the same experience with her that he had with Brandon. Her due date had been for mid-October, but the baby was nearly two weeks late. He felt that he should have known then something was wrong, but the doctors even said she was fine. It didn't take long to find out she wasn't fine.

He had one family picture of the four of them together, taken minutes after Kaitlyn's birth. All four of them were a family for mere minutes before she slipped away. Jessica had complained of a headache and feeling tired before he had left the room to stay with Kaitlyn. He kissed her forehead and cupped her face, told her she'd be fine and how much he loved her for giving him such an amazing gift. When he returned fifteen minutes later she was gone. She had died from obstetrical hemorrhage, and he felt responsible for not listening to her.

From there it went downhill for Donald Lydecker. He walked out of the hospital and turned his back on his children. For nearly a month he was in a drunken stupor, all he did was sleep and drink, with the occasional meal. By the time he returned to work it looked as if he had aged ten years. Bags had formed under his eyes, he had lost weight, and a cold exterior had formed around him. He had his job at Manticore for several years, so his struggles went unnoticed. If he had still been new to the facility his every move would have been watched. Nobody cared that he was stumbling in late reeking of alcohol, or that he slept on the couch in his office and that he had flasks hidden in his desk. Chances were nobody even noticed, it was best to mind your own business at Manticore.

Lydecker's most unprofessional move however was when he began a relationship with a young doctor, Adriana Vertes. Everyone in the facility knew that there was something going on between them but remained tight lipped. Booze and meaningless sex had become his cooping mechanism for the loss of his beautiful wife. Adriana was pretty but nothing in comparison to Jessica.

He missed everything about Jess. Her dark brown hair, her gorgeous brown eyes, and the way she would smile. She had had an infectious laugh and such a warm personality. She always lit up a room when she entered. Her love of art had always infatuated him, she used to spend hours painting, and drawing. He had been a man of science and math, it had been refreshing to have her energy around. All of her work still remained around his home.

These thoughts sent him into flashbacks of his life before she was taken from him. It was those flashbacks that had turned him into the depressed alcoholic he was now. All he had now were his memories of his one weakness, Jessica. He had been shattered by her death.

Lydecker pushed his thoughts of his out of his mind and continued to stare at his computer screen. He was reading over weekly reviews of the X5s and trying to focus. Without his family the X5s had become his kids. He had watched them grown since they were born. The X5s gave him pride and joy, and he knew it was twisted but he couldn't help himself from feeling that way. After several minutes of reading the same sentence over and over again and not comprehending it he flipped off his computer screen. He sat back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. _Might as well go home to my empty house._

He grabbed his keys from his desk drawer and his jacket from the coat rack, before heading out the door. Manticore was quiet this time of night but as he walked through the halls the few soldiers on duty stopped and saluted him. When he passed he would nod in response. They all knew that Colonel Donald Michael Lydecker was one guy that you didn't want to piss off, that they should never bite the hand that feed them.

At the moment Lydecker seemed to have everything any red blooded American male could want, respect, an attractive woman on the side, and a very good, high paying government job. But truth be told, he was far from happy, apart of him wanted his wanted his family back. He couldn't help but think that there was hardly anything left to salvage of his relationship with his kids. If he wanted them back though, he knew it was far from an easy task.

His sister Christine took care of his kids. She had been only 19 years old when he walked out of their lives, but she stepped up, while he fell. Christine had done her part to attempt to make contact with her brother, but he ignored her attempts. It seemed as though she was done playing games with him at this point. Over the past few weeks his sister had sent him multiple emails, text messages and called several time to tell him she was going to sue him for full custody. He knew she wasn't joking and unless he acted soon his opportunity to get his kids back would be gone. Lydecker walked out of the front entrance to the secret government facility and into the cold night air.

"Christ." He muttered as the cold air struck him. Gillette, Wyoming was not a place to live if you enjoyed warm weather, and that was a lesson that Donald Lydecker had learned well over the years. There had been enough snow and hail storms in this damn town to last him a lifetime. He walked through the parking lot to his black Dodge Durango, and climbed in. He put the key in the ignition and turned it. The car's engine roared to life and hummed softly.

As he sat giving the car a few minutes to warm up he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask. Lydecker glared at it. _Is this really what I've become? _He had become a slave to alcohol, and that was something he had never wanted to become. _I can't, I need it._ As he moved his hand to open it he froze. _Your weak. _Echoed through his mind. Lydecker grabbed at the flask and twisted the cap on top. _So weak. _He pulled his hand away from the flask and rolled down the window. He took a long breath and paused, thinking momentarily before throwing his flask out the window of his car. He then rolled up the window and sat in silence.

"Not any more, never again." He stated to himself. Moments later he put the car into drive and left the parking lot. Although it wasn't much it was a start on his road to recovery.


	2. Five Years Gone UPDATED

**Cheyenne, Wyoming, 2008**

Almost 200 hundred miles away in Cheyenne, Wyoming, 24 year old, Christine Lydecker slept silently in her queen size bed next to her husband, Justin. Her married name was Reynolds, but had never bothered to change it on paper. They had married young, she had been 19 and Justin had been 22. Two months after they got married, her sister in law Jessica had died.

She hadn't expected her brother to walk out on his kids, but to her surprise he did. The day Jessica had died Christine had taken Brandon home from the hospital with him thinking it was temporary. A few days after that Kaitlyn was allowed to leave the hospital, Don hadn't showed up when he was supposed to. Christine took her niece in as well and before she knew it a temporary situation had turned into five years. As frustrating as it could be sometimes, she could never abandoned these two kids who had practically become her own.

When it became apparent that Don wasn't coming back anytime soon for his kids, Christine and Justin had decided to buy a house. Their small one bedroom apartment could no longer hold all four of them. Money had been tight but they had somehow managed to make it work. Sure, Don had sent her the occasional check, but he wasn't reliable. She knew he had the money, but was probably to drunk to remember to write her a damn check.

For awhile it had been Christine's hope that her brother would return, but as time had wore on, it had become more of a fear for her. Her niece and nephew had become her life. She and Justin had hoped to have their own kids, but with their current situation it didn't seem possible.

Justin had stepped up and become a father figure for both kids. It was just another reminder of why she had married him in the first place. But she knew the situation bothered him. He loved Brandon and Kaitlyn to death, but was incredibly angry with her brother for abandoning them. Christine was angry too, but she knew her brother was hurting and was more understanding than Justin. But four years later her understanding had turned into frustration.

Christine wanted her brother to be apart of his kids lives but she knew of his destructive behavior. She had driven up to his house in Gillette not to long after Jessica died to check on him. Using the key he had given her she had entered to find the house in total disarray. Empty cans of beer, take out containers and partially empty bottles of hard liquor were strewn on the counters, and the floor. It looked as if his bed hadn't been slept in in weeks. Her brother was nowhere to be found though in the mess that littered his house. She packed some of Brandon's things and left, she hadn't gone back since.

Even when Jessica was alive Christine knew he had spent a good portion of his day working. She wasn't even sure what he did for the government, apart of her was afraid to ask. The most she knew was that he was involved in a classified Department of Defense project. With his lifestyle though, Christine knew he was paid well.

She tried to call him occasionally, but he never answered or returned her phone calls. There had been days were she sympathized with him over losing his spouse, the thought of losing Justin was almost too much to bare. But Christine knew that when you have kids, things were no longer just about yourself, her brother didn't seem to understand that as well.

Lately her patience was disappearing. If five years hadn't been enough time for him to recover, then he never would. She had left voicemails for him in the past few weeks threatening to sue for custody. Christine had threatened him with never being able to see his kids again. She had been desperate to get his attention; she and Justin were beginning to have some serious financial issues due to the market crash that had occurred a few weeks earlier. _Not that Don would really care if he couldn't ever see them again. Hell he's probably happy that I would officially take them off his hands. _

Brandon was 9 years old now. With his short dirty blonde hair and his bright blue eyes, he was the spitting image of his father. Christine couldn't help but smile when she looked at him, he brought back so many memories from when her and Don had been younger.

Brandon loved football and pretty much any other sport. He hated school with a passion and pretty much every morning was a fight to get him to school. He had a lot of friends at school, but Christine noticed he was withdrawn. Before his father had walked out on him, and his mother had died, he had been a carefree little boy. That had all changed though.

At the mere mention of his father Brandon would flip out. He hated his father for abandoning them, and would do anything to protect his sister from him. Since Kaitlyn had been born Brandon had been very doting on her. He had now led him to being the most overprotective big brother in the world. When Christine watched Brandon with Kaitlyn it reminded her of when her and Don were growing up. Don had always been overprotective over her, up until she had gotten married.

"Chrisy?" A small voice woke the 24 year old from her sleep. She rolled over to find her 5 year old niece standing next to her bed.

"What is it baby?" Christine asked, her voice hoarse.

"Nightmare." The little girl said softly. Kaitlyn had become notorious in their home for her nightmares. At least once a week she would wake up in the middle of the night crying.

"Come on baby, hop in." Christine said with a sigh as she held up the blanket. She watched as the little girl climbed under and snuggled up against her. Christine smiled to herself and stroked Kaitlyn's hair as she fell back to sleep.

Brandon may have taken after his father, but Kaitlyn looked more like her mother. The little girl had dark brown curly hair that Christine kept cut at shoulder length. Kaitlyn was constantly smiling which only made her dark brown eyes more noticeable. She had the same exact eyes Jessica had had. She had also inherited her mother's artistic side. Kaitlyn loved to draw and Christine had enrolled her in dance classes. She managed to make friends everywhere she went, and was always happy.

Kaitlyn was the cutest little thing and constantly brought joy to her day. Christine would often look at her and wonder how Don could have ever given her up, either one of them for that matter. Christine sighed slightly and pulled her head up to look at the alarm clock, it read 7:30am.

"Justin." Christine whispered trying to wake up her husband. A groan came out of the covers next to her. "Justin, wake up!" She grunted louder.

"What?" Her husband grumbled.

"Go get Brandon ready for school. He to be there at 8:30." Christine told him. She already knew Brandon wasn't going to get to school in time, he hardly ever did.

"Isn't that your department?" Justin asked as he sat up rubbing his eyes. He looked over at his wife to see her with an arm around a sleeping Kaitlyn. "Let me guess, bad dream?"

"Go get Brandon ready." She snipped back. Justin slowly climbed out of the bed and moved into the adjoining bathroom. She heard the toilet flush and the sink turning on, and then off. He emerged a few minutes later looking a little bit more refreshed. He headed towards the door that lead into the hallway. He stopped in the doorway.

"Have you spoken to your brother Christine?" Justin asked.

"Justin, please just get him ready, not now." She told him. He stared at his wife a little longer before leaving the room. Christine's eyes fell to sleeping niece and she smiled. A few minutes later she slowly drifted back off to sleep.

Justin had basically done everything this morning to get Brandon ready. Hell he loved the kid, but he wasn't his kid. Justin never understood it, Christine spoke so highly of her brother since they had known each other and then he left his kids with them. He left his kids, went back to his high paying job, and became an alcoholic. He sent money occasionally, but not enough. Both he and Christine had been struggling money wise the past few months. Things wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have two kids that weren't theirs to take care of.

"Ready kid?" Justin asked Brandon who was finishing up tying his shoes.

"Yeah." The little boy finished tying his left shoe and stood up.

"Let's go." Justin grabbed Brandon's hand and headed out of the house to the car.

Christine stirred a few hours later at around 9:30, Kaitlyn still asleep in her arms. She slowly got out of bed, and made her way to the door without waking her. She opened the door and turned and looked at her sleeping niece before closing the door and making her way downstairs.

"Hey babe." Christine walked into the kitchen to the sound of her husband's voice. She looked up and smiled before heading to the fridge to find something to eat. "We didn't finish our conversation before." She grabbed an apple off the top shelf of the fridge and headed towards the table.

"Brandon get to school okay?" Christine took a seat at the table across from Justin. He already knew that she was trying to do, change the topic.

"Yeah, he got there fine. Have you spoken to Don?"

"I've called left some messages to tell him that we were thinking about going for full custody." As she spoke she gazed at her apple, not wanting to look Justin in the eye.

"We can't afford them Chris, we need more money and you know it."

"Just shut up, Justin. I don't want to hear this." The anger was now beginning to rise in her voice.

"Christine! Why do you keep avoiding this? We can't keep doing this! Call the bastard and tell him to get his ass back here and get his kids, or tell him to give us some more fucking money to raise them! We both know he has the money, he's been working for the government for years now and I'm pretty damn sure that he isn't doing janitorial work for them." Justin stared at his wife across the table from him, he could now tell that she pissed, really pissed. As she opened her mouth to yell back at him, the phone rang, and Christine got up to get it. The phone call did not come at the best time, but it would give them a minute to cool off, which made all the difference sometimes.

Justin sat with his head in his hands and listened to see who it was. Christine then said something that shocked him.

"Don?... Don is that you?" The man who had abandoned his kids 4 years ago, was now calling. This was the call that they both had dreaded and hoped for, for 5 years now.


	3. Second Chances

2009, Cheyenne, Wyoming

Christine Lydecker was an absolute wreck. Her brother was actually coming, he cared, he wanted to see his kids. It had been 2 months and 3 days since his phone call. The day he had called her brother had told her that he had gotten his act together, and had been sober for a few months, 6 months. When Don put his mind to something, he did whatever it was he had his mind on. In this case it had been getting his life out of the bottle.

Christine was sitting in the living room with Kaitlyn in her lap and Brandon next to her, his head leaning up against his shoulder. The three of them almost looked like a real family, but they all knew that they weren't. They were watching some kids cartoon show, Christine had come to find these shows incredibly annoying. But she knew she would miss it when Don took her niece and nephew away. Don had wanted his kids back immediately, but that was not happening. Christine told him to come and visit a few times before he took them, see if he still liked them. As horrible as it sounded she hoped that he didn't like them and she could keep them forever. Either way it was just buying her more time to be with the two of them. She loved them so dearly, and never wanted them to leave.

Christine glanced at the clock on the opposite wall, 1:45. Fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes until their semi-normal life was completely changed.

Donald Lydecker drove at 75 miles an hour on some highway leading to Cheyenne. He was about 25 minutes from his sisters house, he never liked being late, but he had gotten held up in a meeting that he couldn't get out of. Lately his job had been extremely stressful, the X5's genetic defects were starting to get worse, and then there was Renfro. That bitch controlled his every move in regards to the projects he had going on and he was not a man that liked to be controlled. He wanted control. His job had probably always been this difficult, but he had never noticed before. Only he noticed it now. No longer could he hide behind alcohol.

But there was also Adriana, she was really good lay. They were at each other's homes almost every night, except the nights when Lydecker would work late. They should have just moved in together, but Manticore frowned behavior such as this. Lydecker had come to know her likes, dislikes. He almost thought that he was falling in love with her. He ignored his emotions, when cared he got hurt. That had been his philosophy since Jessica died. That was all about to change today though. His relationship had progressed a lot with Adrianna and to think that it all started with a cup of coffee….

He shook his head and returned to reality. He was going to see his kids, this was not the time, nor place to fantasize over his "girlfriend." Lydecker couldn't help but wonder what his children looked like after all these years. He knew that Brandon looked like him when he was four. He had seen a few pictures of his son, but never studied them, it hurt too much to look at pictures of his kids. Lydecker had seen a few pictures of Kaitlyn, but he hadn't seen any picture of Kaitlyn in a few years. He wanted to picture her looking like her mother. Maybe if she looked like her it would ease his pain, as if apart of Jessica was still alive in Kaitlyn. But he couldn't help but smile to himself as he thought of her looking more like him. Blue eyes, blonde hair… Maybe she even had the same personality that he did. All these thoughts that rushed into his head made him push his foot down harder on the accelerator. I should have left earlier he told himself.

2:07, was now the time that the wall clock in the living room read.

"When's daddy coming?" Kaitlyn asked, she had been for the past week excited to meet her father. She had always wanted to meet her dad, but she couldn't, especially since he wanted nothing to do with her.

Christine had always told her since the first time that she had asked where her parents were, that her mommy had died and that her daddy had been very sick. This poor girl had always just wanted a mom and dad, and she didn't want to have to wait any longer.

"Who cares!" Brandon yelled as he sat up from his spot on the couch, Brandon on the other hand, could have cared less if he had parents. His heart had been broken 4 years ago, his mom had died, and his dad up and left. For an 8 year old he had quite a grip on reality.

"I care." Kaitlyn whispered as snuggled into Christine's hold more. Brandon stood up from the couch and glared at this sister.

"Listen to me Kate, he hurt me and he's gonna hurt you too. Me, Christine and Justin are always going to be here for you, and he isn't. He's never been there for me, and I'm gonna protect you from that. But I can't if you don't let me." Kaitlyn continued to glare at the wall across from her, she curled her self into a ball and Christine tightened her grip on her niece.

Brandon however continued to fume. How could she do this to me? I don't want a dad, I don't want a mom, I want my sister. We've always been there for each other and now all she wants is the father that abandon us. Brandon had told himself since his Aunt had told him that his father was coming back. He wanted to tell everyone else this, but before he could open his mouth, Christine interrupted.

"Brandon, enough." The little boy shut his mouth and returned to his spot on the couch. Christine heard a knock on the door, and she felt Kaitlyn tense in her lap. Christine took a deep breath, and asked herself, why does this have to be so painful?

Outside of Christine's house Lydecker couldn't help but wonder who was more nervous, his sister, or him. His hands were shaking and all he wanted to do was just see his kids. Brandon and Kaitlyn. He looked down and shoes and sighed, it had been about 10 seconds since he had knocked. Why did it seem like years since he had knocked? He looked up just as the door opened.

"Hi Don." It was Justin. He knew that Justin hated him now. They had gotten along okay before Christine and him had gotten married. He didn't like him much after his sister had married him. He was sure that the feeling was mutual now. Not that he could blame him, now that he thought about the whole situation, it had been kinda assholish for him to leave his kids, and send money every few months. "Come to take your kids back?" Lydecker looked away from Justin, knowing that if he looked him in the eye, there would be a fight. "What you don't remember? Ya know who I'm talking about…. The boy and girl you left here four years ago." Keep your mouth shut Don, he told himself.

"Cut it out Justin." Christine emerged at the end of the hallway. She was still as beautiful as he had remembered. "Come in Don." Lydecker stepped around Justin and stood in the hallway just taking this moment in. Christine smiled at him, "Long time no see."

"Thank you." He said as he looked into his sisters eyes. "Thank you." He said again, he should have multiplied that by like a million, but it was all he could do right now. She stepped forward and hugged her brother, both of them just stood and embraced each other. Lydecker closed his eyes and took a breath, he was here, with his sister, and life was good.

When Donald Lydecker opened his eyes he saw a little girl at the end of the hallway. His heart almost stopped when he saw her. She was tiny, but then again she was only 4. She had brown hair, and as he looked at her face their eyes locked. Her eyes…..

Christine stepped away from her brother and turned around to see what he was looking at, Kaitlyn. She looked at her brother's face, never before had she seen him look this way.

"Kaitlyn, sweetie, come here." Kaitlyn walked down the hallway and stood in front of Christine. Christine picked her up and held her close. Lydecker never thought that Kaitlyn would look the way she did. Her eyes, the exact same way that Jessica's had looked. He couldn't believe it. "Don, this is Kaitlyn." Christine introduced the two for the first time. The little girl smiled sheepishly and rested her head on Christine's chest. The room was silent until Kaitlyn broke it.

"Hi." Lydecker could tell she was shy, by the way she trying to hide behind Christine, and the tone of her voice. But God she was adorable.

"Hi." Lydecker gave her a reassuring smile, he could feel tears starting to well up in his eyes. Lydecker swallowed, not wanting to cry here in front of his daughter, sister and brother in-law. He didn't want to show them that he was weak. Kaitlyn held her arms out to him, a sign he told himself, that she wanted him to hold her. Christine smiled at him moved so that it was easier for her brother to take his daughter out of her arms. He pulled his daughter into his hold and held her close. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself, God she was beautiful. When he reopened his eyes his son was standing across the hallway leaning up against the rail for the staircase. He looked at his son, and couldn't believe how much he had grown. Kaitlyn turned her head to see what her father was staring at.

There was Brandon, casually leaning up against the rail, all the hate in the world in his eyes. His father, holding his sister. How he wanted nothing more than to hurt his father. With everybody in the hallway staring at Brandon, wondering what his next move would be.

Lydecker's eyes were locked on his son. He had grown so much since the last time he seen him. The last time he had seen him had been at Jessica's funeral. Most 4 year olds don't understand what is happening when somebody dies. But Brandon understood completely, his mother was gone and he was never going to see her again. When Lydecker had seen him last he had been upset, and sad. Now he was angry, Lydecker didn't know what to do, just wait for him, was the thought that echoed in his mind.

"I hate you." It was simple, straight forward, to the point. Lydecker wasn't surprised, it just hurt more that he thought it would.

"Brandon! Don't say that." Lydecker turned his head to look at his daughter, she now seemed hurt by what her brother had just said.

"SHUT UP KAITLYN!" He screamed at his sister. "I DON"T NEED YOU, I HATE YOU!" Brandon's final scream at his father echoed through the house. Christine opened her mouth, but before she could yell at him, Brandon turned and ran up the stairs. Moments later Justin followed him upstairs.

"He's mad at you." Lydecker turned and nodded at Kaitlyn.

"I noticed sweetie." He told his daughter.

"He doesn't like you because you left us here. I like it here with Chrisy and Justin, but I always wanted a mom and dad. So I'm not mad at you." She wrapped her arms around Lydecker's neck again. "He gets mad sometimes, I don't like it when he does, but he doesn't care what I think." From what this 4 year old daughter had just told him, his son reminded him a lot of someone. Himself.


	4. Behind Blue Eyes

Justin broke the silence in the room.

"Brandon, you're gonna have to talk to somebody about this sooner or later." Justin was trying to encourage Brandon to talk, but he knew that the tone in his voice wasn't convincing.

"I don't want to talk to anyone, go away." Brandon laid down in his bed and held on to one of his stuffed animal.

The animal that he chose to hold onto this time was a stuffed bear. It was old, but his mother had given it to him. Brandon couldn't remember when she had given it to him, but he knew it had been from her. Holding it just made him feel closer to her, like maybe she was there watching over him. Brandon had stopped believing in stuff like that after she died. Everything inside of him had just been crushed. But lately when he held it, there was this strange feeling that would come over him.

Justin stood up from the chair and sat next to Brandon on his bed. Brandon's back was to him, so he just leaned against the pillows and stroked the back of his nephew's head. He didn't pull away, he just laid there, clinging to his stuffed bear.

"You're aloud to be mad. Your…. Dad… hasn't always been there for you, and I'm mad at him for that to. Christine and I just think… that he needs to see you guys… maybe you'll even go live with him again." The thought of what Justin had just said to his nephew felt like someone had just a knife in his back. The last thing Justin wanted to do was give the kids back to him, hell he would have loved to keep them just to piss off his brother in-law. "I'm not going anywhere kid, Christine isn't, and Kaitlyn isn't. I'll always be here. You need to talk about what's going on in that head of yours otherwise, you're brain is gonna come out of your ears." He heard Brandon giggle, and Justin knew that he had gotten through to him. He grabbed his nephew up into his arms and wrapped his arms around his and just held him.

"I love you." Brandon said as Justin held him.

"Right back at you." Justin held him for a moment longer, and that moment was interrupted by a knock at the door. He bit his lip and thought to himself, please let it not be Don. "Come in!" He yelled, the door opened and in walked Kaitlyn. She shut the door behind her and jumped on to the bed. Thank God, Justin told himself.

Kaitlyn being her usual self, had gone upstairs to see how her brother was. Lydecker could tell that her and Brandon, were very, very, close. That explained his sons reaction to him holding Kaitlyn.

Lydecker sat in the Kitchen of his sister's home. The house was pretty big, but there just wasn't much in it. Christine had mentioned to him before that they were having cash flow problems, but being the fact that he had been a drunk, he hadn't really cared when she mentioned it.

His sister hadn't gone to college, making it pretty hard for her to get a decent job. Instead of going to college, she got married. Justin hadn't gone to college either as far as he knew, making it hard for either one of them to get a good job, but some how they survived. They didn't have much money, but they were happy, which in their world, was all that mattered.

"Do you want anything to drink Don?" His sister interrupted his chain of thoughts, and he came back to reality.

"No thanks." He sat at the kitchen table and continued to stare at the wall on the other side of the room. She sat down in the chair opposite him, obstructing his view of the wall.

"About what Brandon said….." She was hesitant in bringing the subject up.

"Just forget it, He'll come around sooner or later." Or he hoped, if Brandon was like him, he would come around in a few years from now. That boy had a huge temper. Luckily his daughter, hadn't gotten that aspect of him. Lydecker tried to avoid the whole Brandon topic, and quickly switched it to his daughter. "Has Kaitlyn been excited, to meet me?"

"Yup, that's all she's talked about for the past few days." Christine paused and took a sip of her drink, maybe it was water, Lydecker had been to busy staring at the wall to notice what she had gotten for herself. "Isn't she cute?" Lydecker smiled at his sister.

"Do I even need to answer that?" Donald Lydecker had fallen in love with his daughter the second that he saw her. He wanted nothing more that to make his to kids happy. He could tell that Kaitlyn didn't need much work to be happy she already was, but Brandon could use some work.

"She's a little shy, but if she wants to talk she will talk you're ear off." Christine smiled as she told her brother about his daughter. She wanted to tell him everything about his kids that he had missed over the past few years, but she knew that wasn't possible. He had missed so much, and it was nearly impossible to make up for lost time now.

"That's how her mother was." Lydecker said it softly, it didn't hurt as much now to talk about Jessica as it used to, but it still struck a nerve inside of him.

"Yup." Christine didn't want to dwell on the subject of Jessica. She hadn't been quite sure how her brother would respond to it. He was the one that brought it up, so maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She knew though that it pained Don to talk about her so she just thought that it would be easier to not bring it up.

"Don…." Christine whispered breaking the silence in the room. She gazed at the table top studying the wood that it was made out of.

"What's wrong?" Lydecker responded obviously concerned because of the tone in her voice.

"You're it Don… You're all they have. Do not fuck this up."

"I'm not going to. I want them back more than anything." Lydecker looked at his sister across the table and grabbed her hands on the tabletop. "Look at me." Christine slowly looked up at her brother. Don just gazed at her for a moment before moving on to say, "You have my word." Christine stared into her brother's blue eyes, for a moment she almost felt like she was drowning in the sincerity in his eyes. Christine arched her eyebrows and pulled away from her brother's hold.

"Good." A moment later Christine stood up from her spot at the table and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Donald Michael Lydecker alone with his thoughts.


	5. Escape

Gillette, Wyoming

2009

For nearly eight months Kaitlyn and Brandon had been living back with their father. Brandon had adjusted better than anyone had thought. Lydecker spent more time at home now, then he had in years. The X5's didn't seem as important as they once had. He sometimes brought Kaitlyn and Brandon with him to Manticore, not the most kid friendly place in the world, but Kaitlyn didn't like it when he left them, home with a babysitter she wanted to spend time with her dad. There was the occasional night that they sometimes slept in the barracks, only because of a late night meeting. Lydecker remained unaware of the fact that Kaitlyn had become friendly with some of the X5's particularly Zack.

She had caught Zack's eye the first day that he saw her. She dressed differently and her hair was longer then the X5's. Zack sometimes watched her sleep, she really was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. Only problem was that she was the daughter of the enemy. At night Kaitlyn often sat up with the X5's and talked. They were fascinated by the world outside of Manticore. But the night that Max had a seizure changed Kaitlyn's view on everything.

It was like any other night, only Max started seizing. Brandon pulled Kaitlyn to the back of the room, aware of the fact that this was not going to turn out good. In a matter of moments the X5's were following behind Eva out into the hallway. Kaitlyn started to run after them, but Brandon grabbed her and pulled her to a side hallway. Both of them ran down the hallway to see the X5's behind Eva. Eva was holding the gun aiming at something, but from their vantage point they couldn't see what. A moment later there was a loud pop and Eva lay on the floor, bleeding heavily.

Kaitlyn now watched as her father stepped forward. The pure expression of anger lay on his face. She pulled into Brandon's hold, afraid. Eva was dead, and the fatal bullet had been from her father's gun. Donald Lydecker's orders to his X5's were heard through every hallway in Manticore, never had he yelled so loud. _How dare they!_ He thought to himself. _I created them! I trained them!_ _I made them what they are!_ Lydecker made his example out of Eva, _maybe they'll think twice next time_ he thought.

Eva hadn't been his strongest soldier, put it still pained him to have to kill her. As he ordered the X5's to go back to the barracks his worst nightmare came true. They scattered, and disobeyed him. The X5's ran in different directions, some followed Zack, some took off towards Kaitlyn and Brandon.

Once the X5's and soldiers had passed by Kaitlyn stepped out of her brother's hold and walked towards Eva's lifeless body on the floor. There was the sound of breaking glass followed by alarms going off. But none of seemed to phased four year old girl who was standing above Eva's body. No emotion passed over Kaitlyn's face as she looked at Eva. Kaitlyn felt a hand on her shoulder, she pulled her head up and stood looking directly in front of her, before turning around.

"Kaitlyn….." She looked at him without emotion. Lydecker looked at her face, and realized that the look on her face was something that he would never forget. Kaitlyn knocked his arm off her shoulder and took of running down the hallway. "KAITLYN!" Lydecker yelled, terrified that she would escape. He went to follow her, and saw that Brandon was already right behind her.

Kaitlyn could see that one of the windows at the end of the hallway was broken. There was one thought that echoed through her head…. _Maybe if I can just get to window… I can find Zack and he can get me out of here. _She was so close that she could feel it.

Brandon chased after his sister, afraid that she might make it to the window. _No, no, no! She can't leave me. We've always been together!_ Those were Brandon's final thoughts as he launched himself on top of his sister as they both fell to the floor.

Seconds later Lydecker reached the end of the hallway, where Brandon was already collecting himself. Kaitlyn was still laying on the floor near the window that the X5's had jumped out of a few minutes earlier. Lydecker placed his hand on her shoulder to roll her over to make sure she was okay.

"Kaitlyn?" He was relieved that she hadn't gotten away, but was now afraid that she had been hurt when she fell. The second that he grabbed her she rolled over on her own and shuffled backwards towards her brother. She was terrified. "Kaitlyn, its okay I'm not going to hurt you." He said softly. She still continued to stare at him, shaking because of her fear.

"Sir!" One of his soldiers called out. _Perfect timing. _Lydecker thought to himself.

"What!" Lydecker yelled to the soldier without taking his eyes off his little girl who had just curled up into a ball at his sons feet.

"Your presence is requested outside to command the search for the X5's sir."

"Thank you, Solider." Lydecker heard him walk away, and knew that his crisis with Kaitlyn would have to wait. "Both of you go to my office and stay there until I say otherwise." Brandon nodded, and Lydecker took one last look at them before heading down the hallway. _This is going to be one long night._ Lydecker thought to himself.

Kaitlyn and Brandon made it up to their fathers office with no problems. Now they lay on the black leather couch together. Kaitlyn lay in her brothers arms. She had been asleep for a little while, but was now awake. There were footsteps outside the door, Kaitlyn closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

Lydecker waited for the doors to his office to open and walked into. He found his office in peace, his two children asleep on the couch. He approached the couch and stood above them. They meant the world to him, the thought of loosing them scared him. He kissed them both before heading to his desk. He sat in his chair closed his eyes and leaned back. Twelve. Twelve X5's in all had gotten away. Ten where either dead or recaptured. The next few days were critical in finding them. If he couldn't catch them now, he would probably have to spend the rest of his life looking for them.

Kaitlyn opened up her eyes and peaked over at Lydecker, he didn't look mad as he as he had looked earlier. Now he just looked tired. He also had the same look on his face that Christine would get when she was paying the bills. Kaitlyn snuggled back up against her brother and closed her eyes. God how she wished she had gotten away.

AN: It should get more exciting in the next few chapters… Sorry it took me forever to update… I've been sooooo busy with school…. Keep reviewing… I want to know that people are reading!


	6. The First Step

Gillette, Wyoming

2019

It had been ten years since the night of the escape, and that night was something that was never mentioned again in the Lydecker household. Nobody wanted to know why Kaitlyn had tried to run, but they all could have guessed why.

Brandon was now almost six foot with a voice to match. He was now seventeen, and the family slacker. Every few days Lydecker received phone calls about Brandon's performance in school. When he did show up to his classes, he showed up late, rarely handed in work, and was often found to be breaking school rules. Lydecker had almost killed him when he found out that he been smoking inside of the school. But when Brandon wasn't in school, he was usually out partying, drinking and sleeping around with girls.

Brandon had fit well into his role in school as the typical jock. All the girls wanted him, and all the guys hated him for the simple reason that every girl wanted him. But even though he had developed this role, he still maintained his original one. The overprotective brother.

Brandon wasn't the only one who had grown up, Kaitlyn had too. She had developed young, around eleven. She was now thirteen and looked as if she was the same age as her brother. All of the guys wanted her, but were never going to get anywhere near her with her father and brother around. She never pursued a relationship with anyone for the simple fact that it wasn't even worth the embarrassment she would feel if she brought a guy home with her.

Kaitlyn was the opposite of her brother with her schoolwork. She was on high honor role, and did well in whatever she put her mind to. Not to mention, the work that her brother did hand in, was the work that she did for him. Kaitlyn hadn't adapted to his laid back style, not understanding how he could party all night and not go to school the next morning. But popularity was something that Kaitlyn had learned from him. Kaitlyn easily became the most popular girl in her grade. Only thirteen Kaitlyn was already a freshman in high school, she opted to skip eight grade, it seemed like a waste of time, she already knew it all. But Kaitlyn wasn't satisfied with her life, most of the time she felt alone.

**---------------------------------**

Kaitlyn's alarm clock started to buzz at the same time in did every weekday morning, six am. Groaning softly she slapped the top of the alarm clock, turning it off. She rolled out of the bed and walked into her bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror as she turned the shower on.

"I look like crap." She muttered under her breath. Her eyes were half open, and her long dark brown hair was in knots. She pulled off her clothes and stepped into the shower.

**---------------------------------**

Meanwhile in the Kitchen, Donald Lydecker sat sipping on his coffee and reading the paper. He had already tried to wake up his son twice, and had been unsuccessful both times. He was on the verge of just giving up on Brandon, if he didn't want to go to school, fine. Anyway in this post-pulse world a high school diploma wasn't going to help him get a job. If his kids were going to make it on their own they would have to lie, cheat and steal, just like everyone else. As much as he knew this was how the world worked, he didn't want to accept it. Even though lying, cheating, and stealing was pretty much what his job description was.

He heard the shower turn off in Kaitlyn's room, and moments later her blow-drier went on. The lights in the kitchen dimmed, he even count how many times the power went out because of that fucking thing.

"Brandon! I swear if you don't get out of bed, I'm taking your car away for the next two months!" He yelled. He could only hear a slight groan from his son's room. Lydecker couldn't help but wonder sometimes when this became his life. One day they were both so cute, they wanted to spend time with him. Now both of them were on the constant verge of driving him up the wall.

Kaitlyn hadn't been as bad as Brandon had been, but her mood swings were god awful. One second she would be curled up next to him and the next she would be screaming about how much she hated both of them. _Teenage girls._ Lydecker told himself.

Kaitlyn emerged from her room and walked into the kitchen.

"Morning Daddy." She said cheerfully as she grabbed an apple and fixed herself some coffee.

"Morning sweetheart." She sat next to him at the table and he leaned over and kissed her on her forehead.

"Is he up yet?" Kaitlyn questioned. Lydecker shook his head no and turned back to his paper. "Can I try something?"

"Be my guest." Kaitlyn stood up and headed towards the sink. She filled a glass of water and approached her brother's bedroom. She stood above him and thought about her statement earlier in the morning, and reconsidered it. She had been wrong, she looked fantastic, Brandon looked like crap. Kaitlyn held the water above his head.

"Brandon, I suggest you get up, now."

"Not a chance, I'm not getting up for anything." Brandon grumbled as he buried his head in his pillow.

"I warned you." With that she poured the glass on his head, and she took off running. Brandon sat up immediately, he was soaked.

"You stupid bitch, you better fucking run!" Kaitlyn giggled as she put the glass back in the sink. His bedroom door slammed shut followed by the door to his bathroom.

"Good job." Lydecker said as he read his paper. "I should have thought of that earlier." Kaitlyn smiled as she made her way back over to the table to finish her breakfast.

"Are you coming home for dinner tonight?" Kaitlyn asked as she took a bite of her apple.

"Probably…. Why?"

"I thought that we could have dinner together." Lydecker looked up and smiled at his daughter.

"Really?"

"Why not… I mean if you're not busy."

"I'm not…. I'll be home by six." Kaitlyn smiled and went back to her breakfast.

**---------------------------------**

At around 4:20 Kaitlyn opened the door to her home, to find it empty, as it usually was at this time of day. Brandon always went out with his friends after school, and her father was always working at this time of day. Shutting the door behind her she threw her bags on the floor and headed to the kitchen. Pouring herself a drink she sat on the counter, trying to figure out what to do with herself for the next hour and forty five minutes. _Well I could do my homework… But I do have a study period tomorrow… Nap? Yeah… That sounds good. _

Kaitlyn hopped of the counter and made a slow stroll to her room. She pulled off her school uniform upon arriving in her room, and slipped into her pajamas. Setting her alarm clock for 5:30, she slipped into bed and slowly fell of to sleep.

**---------------------------------**

An hour later the loud buzz of her alarm clock woke her. Kaitlyn rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling as her thoughts began to plague her.

Every once and awhile there was a thought of what had happened to the X5's. Some days she couldn't help but wish Zack would come and rescue her. But the thought of what that would do to her father, scared her from thinking about it. Kaitlyn hoped that all twelve of them were out there, living some what normal lives.

Slowly Kaitlyn got out of bed, walking into her bathroom. Her usual routine of looking at herself followed. From the pictures of her mother she had seen. She could tell that she was the spitting image of her. Everything about her was like her mother, even down to the most particular details. The occasional thought that her father "made" her like this traveled into her head, but he hadn't know that his wife was going to die during childbirth. Sometimes the way that he looked at her creped her out, but she knew…. She was all he had left of her mother.

As six o'clock neared Kaitlyn became more and more ready to order take out. Her father never could be depended upon for anything. As the clock struck six thirty, she knew he wasn't coming. Not like she had gotten her hopes up or anything, there had been many times when he had promised something and not come through. Those were the bad parts about having a father who worked for a secret government agency, not that there were many perks.

Kaitlyn placed her order for a caser salad at the local pizza place, and hung up. She had twenty minutes till they delivered, and usually twenty meant forty.

Kaitlyn wandered into her fathers room to get some cash to pay, he had a secret spot where he kept cash. Or at least he thought that it was a secret. Kaitlyn only took cash when she really needed it, Brandon took it to go buy a case of beer, or gas for his car. It was amazing that they had both been doing this for years now and her father never noticed.

She grabbed a twenty as she looked around his room. Disorganized, cluttered, shit on top of every surface in the room. _Typical signs of being a singles parent._ Kaitlyn told herself. As her gaze wandered around the room her eyes fell on her father's computer, it was on. Kaitlyn couldn't help but wonder why he had left it on. He never leaves that fucking thing on. She walked over and touched the mouse, the screen saver disappeared and a pop up took its place asking for a password. _Should I…_ Kaitlyn smiled to herself as she took a seat in front of his computer. As Kaitlyn tried different combinations, it dawned on her. DMLK1031J0518BL. It would have taken most people years to guess that, but for Kaitlyn, it had been simple. Family birthdays and initials, that's all it was.

The computer logged her in and went to her father's desktop. There were a few icons on the screen, none of them really interested her. _Boring government stuff._ Kaitlyn told herself. But as her eyes flashed across the screen, something caught her eye. X5's. For a minute Kaitlyn hesitated before clicking on the icon. This is where all of questions would be answered… Everything she had wondered about for the past ten years, here it was, at her fingertips.

Kaitlyn clicked on the button and waited for the page to load. When it did, every X5's designation was on the page. 210, 452, 656, 493. As she looked at the different designations her eyes fell upon 599. Kaitlyn took a breath before clicking on, 599. As she did a separate window opened up reviling a picture of Zack and a bunch of information about him. The picture looked some what recent. Blonde hair, blue eyes, that just about anyone could drown in.

"Zack…." Kaitlyn whispered to herself. Her eyes scanned the information on the side of the page, his current location according to this, was Salt Lake City. A nine hour trip from Gillette. As she continued to read almost an hour went by, she was lost. Lost in her thoughts and memories.

As Kaitlyn thought about her nights at Manicore when she was younger, she remember one of the several nights that she had a nightmare. She had been terrified. She lay alone in her uncomfortable bed trying to go back to sleep, when Zack approached her. He put a soothing hand on her head, making her feel protected. Something she so desperately needed at the time.

The doorbell rang and Kaitlyn fell the chair terrified that her father was home. She lay on the floor for a moment catching her breath. It was only the pizza guy. As she lay there the picture of Zack remained on the screen, watching. She quickly got up and logged out of her father's account before heading to the front door. But she couldn't forget about Zack…. _What if? _She asked herself. She quickly shook the thought of visiting Zack out of her head.


	7. Betrayal

**Gillette, Wyoming, 2019**

Lydecker arrived home close to eleven that night. As he stepped out of his car the cold night air hit him, almost taking his breath away. He never cared much for the cold, Jessica had always wanted to move somewhere warmer but they never got the chance. Kaitlyn was like her mother, cold weather did not agree with her.

Tomorrow Lydecker was leaving for Los Angeles for a few days. There had been some developments in the search for the rouge X5s, specifically X5-701 aka Syl. Nothing was concrete in this case but it was better to be safe than sorry. He had spent 10 years searching for his kids, but it wasn't too often that they would leave a trail. Lydecker had trained them well and in a twisted way he was almost proud of them. But the constant pressure from Renfro and the committee took that sense of pride away from him. The best of the X5s had escaped that night costing Manticore millions of dollars.

Lydecker stepped inside of his living room and pulled off his black leather jacket, hanging it up in the closet. He turned to see the television on but the volume very low. He glanced over the couch to see Kaitlyn sound asleep curled up into a ball with a heavy blanket over her. Lydecker sighed and smiled to himself he always tried to enjoy these peaceful moments. She was so beautiful there were times Lydecker couldn't even believe such perfection existed.

He circled the couch and kneeled down to stroke the side of her face. She stirred slightly opening her eyes and grinned at her father.

"Hi Daddy." She whispered softly to her father as he caressed the side of her face and ran is fingers through her long curly brown hair. _Perfection._ Lydecker told himself.

"Hi baby, sorry I'm home so late." He paused. "Work was crazy you know how it is; a lot of unexpected stuff came up today."

"It's ok, I had a lot of homework to do anyway." Lydecker smiled she was so studious, he could see qualities of himself in her.

Kaitlyn nuzzled her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes. He slid one arm under her shoulders and one under her knees and pulled her up into his arms. Lydecker made his way through the house to her room and laid her down on the bed. He made sure she was tucked in and that her alarm clock was set so she could get up for school the next morning.

"Kaitlyn." He whispered softly. The only response he got was a small whimper. "I have to go to Los Angles tomorrow for a few days; I'll call you to make sure everything is ok."

"Love you." She murmured.

"Love you too." Lydecker said as her kissed her forehead good night.

At six am the next morning Kaitlyn's alarm clock blared as it always did. She rolled over in bed and turned it off she laid there for a few minutes contemplating her next move. _Shower? Go to school a mess… or not go at all?_ The last thought on her mind brought a grin to her face; she could never get away with not going to school. _Oh well…_ Kaitlyn told herself as she pulled herself out of bed. Entering the bathroom she stopped to look at herself, and suddenly the events from the night before entered her head.

"_Kaitlyn." He whispered softly. The only response he got was a small whimper. "I have to go to Los Angles tomorrow for a few days; I'll call you to make sure everything is ok."_

"Shit." Kaitlyn yelled out loud. _Who was it?! Who was in LA? Zane… Krit… Jondy… Syl? Oh my God, Syl._Her mind raced as she tried to remember the information she had read the other night on her father's computer. She ran from the bathroom to her brother's room. It was empty. _Ok good, he's probably at one of his girlfriend's houses._ At least he wouldn't be there to ask about her little freak out. She stepped out onto the porch checking to see if her father's car was there, it wasn't.

This decision would be the most important of her life, betray her father, or help the twelve kids he had tortured for 10 years of their lives. Kaitlyn stood for a moment before running back to her room to get dressed.

She pulled out a pair of black jeans and a purple turtleneck and got dressed; she grabbed her black messenger back and threw a few essentials into it. Kaitlyn grabbed the last of what she needed from her room before heading into the dining room. She grabbed the family picture of her, Brandon and her father that hung on the wall and put it on the floor. Behind it was her father's safe; it contained all the important family documents along with 10,000 dollars in cash. Lydecker had money hidden everywhere. She grabbed around a 1,000 dollars before shutting the door and putting the picture back in place.

Her last stop before leaving was her father's room to print out the X5s information, she was about to ruin 10 years of intelligence her father had received. Kaitlyn hesitated for a moment before logging onto his computer, but for some reason she couldn't stop herself this felt so right. As the documents printed out she wandered into Lydecker's closet. Kneeling down Kaitlyn pulled up one of the tiles on the floor beneath it were close to ten guns and the clips for them. She grabbed one and its clip and placed the tile back in its place. The printer had stopped and Kaitlyn grabbed the pages she had printed and put them in her bag. _Salt Lake City here I Come._ The ultimate betrayal.


	8. Ten Years Later

Lydecker arrived home close to eleven that night

2019, Salt Lake City, Utah

It was near 7 pm by the time Kaitlyn had found Zack's apartment building, 632 Washington Avenue. She had been very cautious to make sure that she hadn't been followed. The bus that she had taken made several stops along the way, she occasionally got off and waited for the next bus to make sure she wasn't being followed. She and her brother had occasionally sat in on some of the X5s classes when they were younger; she knew how to avoid a tail. Kaitlyn glanced around the outside of the building before heading. It was pretty grimy looking, and not the kind of lifestyle she was used to. As much as Kaitlyn hated to admit it her father spoiled her rotten, anything she want she got. She pushed the button for the elevator and waited she didn't hear it move, she shoved the button again and nothing happened. _Great._ _As if I'm not tired enough. _Zack lived on the eight floor, Kaitlyn groaned and began her climb to his apartment.

Zack lounged on his couch and flipped through the channels on TV. _Not a damn thing to watch… _There weren't many times that Zack could just relax like this but everything had been quiet lately with his siblings. So he figured he could take a few days to himself. For the past ten years Zack had maintained his role as CO. It had taken years to track down the X5s but he managed to find each and everyone that had escaped. His job was to make sure they were protected, and taken care of. This was a job he took very seriously, one slip up and one of them could be captured or killed by Lydecker. _Never underestimate what people are capable of doing to each other. _Echoed through Zack's mind, if anything he over estimated what Lydecker was capable of doing. He knew in a second that he could snap Lydecker's neck but there would always be someone to replace him. It was tactically responsible to keep Lydecker around, at least by now Zack was able to be one step ahead of him. A knock at the door interrupted his momentary relaxation. Zack immediately tensed up and grabbed his gun off the table in front of him and cautiously made his way to the door. As he looked through the peep hole he saw a girl maybe 16 years old, long wavy brown hair, and several inches shorter than him. Zack had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He opened the door slowly and made eye contact with the girl. _Where do I know her from?_ Zack searched his mind trying to remember who this girl was.

"Can I help you?" Zack questioned. She didn't say anything she continued to look him up and down. "Hello?" He tried again sounding irritated.

"Zack?" She questioned. A wave of fear hit him, as her voice struck his memory. _Kaitlyn Lydecker! Why was she here? Had Lydecker sent her to trick him?_ He grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her into his apartment. He slammed the door and a yelp came out of her mouth, clearly she hadn't expected this reaction from him. He covered her mouth with his hand pulled her against his chest and held the gun to her head. Her breathing rapidly increased, she was scared.

"What the fuck are you doing here? Huh?" Zack growled into her ear. "Did he send you?" She didn't say anything fear had overtaken her. Zack dragged her towards the windows and looked out to see if there was any unusual activity outside. Nothing everything was quiet. He felt a tear drop hit his hand and Zack looked down at his prisoner to see her crying. Zack rolled his eyes and threw her onto the couch. _Fear accomplishes nothing._ He rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "Kaitlyn, why are you here?"

"You remember me?" She said quietly.

"Yeah, answer the question." The answer was Zack had never forgotten her from the time he had first laid eyes on her he thought she had been beautiful. She had been four the first time he had met her, ten years later she was still gorgeous. His eyes wandered across her body. She was far from the quiet four year old he had met, she was a full grown woman, that he could never be with.

"Lydecker's onto Syl." Zack snapped to attention his thoughts of the past quickly exited his mind. His sister was in trouble.

"How do you know this?" She slowly reached into her bag a pulled out a bunch of papers and handed it to him. He snatched them from her and thumbed through them. It was 10 years of Intel Lydecker had on the X5s.

"He told me last night that he was leaving for LA today, he didn't say what for but usually the only time he leaves is when he has a hunch on where you guys are." She slowly sat up on the couch careful not to make a sudden move.

"Why are you doing this?" As much as Zack wished that he could accept what she had just given to him it was hard not to suspect her motives or that Lydecker had put her up to this.

"I feel like I owe it to you." She paused and took a breath. "I know it's hard for you to believe me Zack, but I would never lie to you, I have no reason to." Zack eyed her studying her. _Maybe she's telling the truth._

"I'll be back in minute, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Kaitlyn nodded and Zack walked down the hallway. She finally relaxed for the first time in the past 15 minutes. That had probably been one of the most terrifying moments in her life; she understood though why Zack had reacted that way. Even while he was interrogating her Kaitlyn couldn't help but stare and appreciate him. _God he was hot! I guess that's what happens when your DNA is hand picked… _Kaitlyn shook her head and tried to get those thoughts out of her head. _It would never work you idiot! You can't even bring home a guy now, a NORMAL guy! Imagine what would happen if Daddy found out about this, he would kill you!! _

"Ugh." Kaitlyn muttered out loud.

"What?" She turned around in shock realizing that Zack had re-entered the room.

"Nothing I was just thinking about something."

"Like betraying your father?" She raised and eyebrow as Zack moved and sat on the recliner next to the couch. "You were right, Syl is relocating tonight. The city was crawling with Lydecker's men." Kaitlyn nodded.

"Good, I'm glad… Umm I guess I should leave." Kaitlyn said as she stood up, Zack followed her immediately.

"It's late you shouldn't be out alone, stay." Kaitlyn laughed and turned around to face him.

"So what's next tonight's list of events? Traumatize me completely? Or hold a knife to my throat?" She said sarcastically. Zack cleared his throat and looked away, this situation was very awkward.

"Sorry, I just you know…" Kaitlyn cut him off.

"It's ok I understand, I can't blame you. Just keep in my mind I want to help you, I'm not trying to fuck you over." Zack nodded and smiled.

"Stay. I don't want to have to worry about you." Kaitlyn grinned at Zack and fell into his arms hugging him. Zack nuzzled his head into her hair. "It's good to see you Kat." Kaitlyn pulled herself closer to him.

"You too."


	9. Beginning of the End

Kaitlyn awoke the next morning to the sun streaming through Zack's living room windows

Kaitlyn awoke the next morning to the sun streaming through Zack's living room windows. She groaned softly and lifted her head off the pillow. She glanced around the room and noticed it was surprisingly clean. Kaitlyn hadn't been exactly sure what to expect but judging upon the cleanliness that the men in her life had, she had expected all men to be that way.

The night before Zack and her and spent most of the night talking, there hadn't been much time to look around. She sat up on the sofa and stretched her arms over her head, before stepping over to the window and sitting on the ledge. She rested her forehead on the cold glass of the window and stared out. Kaitlyn smiled as she watched the sunrise.

"How'd you sleep?" She turned her head quickly to see Zack standing behind her.

"You scared me." She said softly before leaning her head back on the window. Zack smirked and stood on the other side of the window glancing out to see what she was looking at.

"Watcha lookin' at?" He questioned. Kaitlyn giggled softly and looked up at Zack.

"Just the sun."

"Oh, exciting." Zack said blankly.

"Shut up." Kaitlyn said playfully as brushed her hand down his arm. The room was silent for several minutes as they both stared out the window. "I guess I should get ready to go." She said softly. Kaitlyn stood up and went to walk towards her bag in order to get clothes to change into.

"I'd like to see you again Kat." Zack said softly his eyes stuck on the floor.

"The fearless leader of the rouge X5s wants to see me again?" Zack glared at her. "I would be honored." Kaitlyn said giggling. She grabbed her clothes out of her bag and made her way back to the bathroom. "You need to lighten up Zack, otherwise your head might explode." She shouted on her way. Zack heard the door slam and he allowed himself to smile. _I'm falling for my enemy's daughter, this could get interesting._

--

Kaitlyn ran around the back of her house and pushed her window up. She had been sure to leave it unlocked so she could get back in. She pushed up on the window and it wouldn't budge. _Shit! Brandon!_ Brandon had locked her window so she would have to walk in the front door and explain herself. Kaitlyn cursed under her breath as she walked around to the front door. She pushed her key into the lock and opened the door.

"Where have you been?" Brandon questioned almost immediately. Kaitlyn sighed heavily and shut the door behind her.

"Relax, Dad knows." Brandon stood up from the couch and walked around backing his sister up the wall.

"Liar." He teased.

"Shut up." She grumbled as she pushed passed him and walked back towards her room. Kaitlyn dropped her bag on the floor and jumped into her bed.

"Come on Kit Kat, spill. You know I will find out eventually." Brandon jumped into bed next to her and she groaned loudly.

"How do you know I'm lying?"

"I called dad." Kaitlyn sat up and grabbed her pillow and began smacking him with it.

"Why would you do that?!" I cover for you all the time!" Brandon laughed as he grabbed the pillow out of her hands and pulled her close.

"Man, you were up to something bad. Don't worry I just asked him if you had any plans, he doesn't know." She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Where were you?" Kaitlyn swallowed she hated lying to her brother he was the only person she was able to rely on, and she hated to betray that trust.

"Jackie had a party up at her vacation house, no biggie." Kaitlyn nuzzled her head into her pillow.

"Ahh yes to be young." Brandon said sarcastically. Kaitlyn giggled.

"Brandon?"

"Hmm?"

"You're an idiot."

"But that's why you love me." Kaitlyn laughed and snuggled into her brother's embrace. The brother and sister duo fell asleep together; neither realized that this was the beginning of the end of their close friendship.

--

Donald Lydecker returned empty handed from Los Angeles after five days. He usually returned from every one of his attempts to recapture X5s with nothing. In a twisted way he was almost proud, for ten years his kids had managed to elude his grasp. They had learned well. Lydecker pulled his car into the family garage carefully in order to avoid hitting Brandon's prized SUV. Lydecker had bought it for him only a few days after he got his driver's license. He had spoiled his kids rotten, mostly because of the guilt he felt for not being there for them when they were children, along with not being around a lot now. Also he wasn't very good at saying no to them, especially Kaitlyn.

Lydecker climbed out of his car and slammed the door behind him making his way up the garage stairs into the house. He opened the door and stepped into the house, it was silent. _At least it's in one piece. _He told himself, Lydecker was always hesitant to leave the house in his children's care. There had been times that he had come back from spur of the moment trips to find that his home had been practically ransacked by his son's friends.

"Hello?" Lydecker called out into his home. There was no response, and Lydecker sighed to himself. He often missed the days where he would come home to his kids who couldn't wait to see him. Now when he came home it was like pulling teeth to get a hello out of either one of them. Lydecker walked across the living room to get to his kids bedrooms. He knocked on Kaitlyn's door first.

"Yeah?" Kaitlyn responded.

"Can I come in?" Lydecker questioned.

"Yeah." She grumbled. Lydecker walked into his daughter's room to see her sitting at her desk practically buried in a pile of books.

"No hello?" Lydecker ask as he bent over and hugged her from behind and kissed her forehead. He could see a frown plastered on her face. "What's wrong baby?"

"I hate school." She grumbled. "I have to much work."

"Take a break." Lydecker offered. She rolled her chair around to face her father at eye level. He pushed one of her stray locks of hair back behind her ear.

"I wish." She said as she sighed heavily. "How was LA?"

"Eh you know the usual." Kaitlyn knew that meant that he had nothing. She almost smiled but caught herself.

"Sorry daddy." She said softly as she lied through her teeth.

"It's ok." Lydecker said as he sighed and continued to run his fingers through her hair. "What did you do this week?" He asked eyeing her.

"Just a lot of homework, hung out with Jackie for a bit, nothing exciting."

"Sounds like a good week, I guess I should go talk to your brother." Lydecker stood up and went to walk towards the door.

"Umm no dad stay here." Kaitlyn stammered. "I have to tell you something." Lydecker turned around and eyed her suspiciously. He knew that Kaitlyn and Brandon had a bond that was unbreakable, and would cover for each other in any situation.

"Oh yeah? What?" Lydecker watched as Kaitlyn searched her mind for just about anything to tell him. Lydecker watched her squirm uncomfortably, before interjecting. "What's he doing Kaitlyn?" He said as he rubbed his temple. Kaitlyn bit her lip, there was no way to salvage this, he was busted at this point.

"Well he took a girl in there over an hour ago." Lydecker sighed heavily as Kaitlyn continued. "But I'm not all that sure what guys, and girls do in rooms alone together since it has never happened to me."

"Yeah well get used to it, because it is never going to happen." Kaitlyn groaned under her breath and spun around to her desk. Lydecker watched her closely and frowned to himself, his little girl was so grown up. "Kat?"

"What dad?" She muttered.

"I love you." He said softly. In his chaotic world, his little girl was the bright light that made it worth everything.

"Love you to daddy."


	10. Love at First Sight

Nearly three months had passed since Kaitlyn had started hanging out with Zack whenever he was near Gilette

Nearly three months had passed since Kaitlyn had started hanging out with Zack whenever he was near Gilette. The guilt that she had about lying had begun to fade and spending time with Zack had become the biggest highlight of her life. She would sit and wait in front of her phone for a discreet text message telling her where and when to meet. This week however was different then most Zack had a surprise for her.

The car was silent except for the hum of the engine as Zack drove down the highway. Kaitlyn was asleep in the passenger's seat next to him. They had been driving for a little over an hour. This visit with Kaitlyn was going to be different than all the other ones. Zack had rented a cabin for the weekend and he wanted this to be special.

He pulled up to the front of the cabin about an hour and a half north of Gillette. As he put the car in park Kaitlyn stirred.

"Where are we?' She murmured.

"The middle of nowhere." He said flatly as he turned the car off and pulled the key out of the ignition. "Do you do anything besides sleep Kat?" She smiled as she pulled her coat on.

"I like to sleep, it's peaceful." She paused and shrugged. "At least until you wake up and you remember everything." Zack nodded.

"I know the feeling." He opened the door and slid out of the car into the snow. The door echoed in the woods as he slammed it. Zack grabbed his bag and Kaitlyn's out of the back of the car and walked towards the cabin. Kaitlyn was already standing on the porch with her teeth chattering. "You ok?"

"Just open the door; I'm not good with the cold." Zack slid the key into the lock and entered the cabin first. He flicked the light switch on and looked around, it was perfect. Kaitlyn followed behind him and closed the door behind her. "This is nice." She said as she walked around to the couch and sat down. "What's the occasion?"

"There isn't one I just thought I'd take you some place nice instead of my broken down apartments." She giggled.

"I don't care where we are Zack, its fine as long as were together." _Oh shit, that so came out wrong._ Kaitlyn told herself. Zack didn't say anything he grinned and walked towards the bedrooms. As he passed her he gave her a playful tap on her head.

Zack dropped each of the bags in a separate room. _Did she really mean that? Does she feel the same way about me that I feel about her?_ He could only hope she did. When he returned to the living room she was curled up on the couch in a ball shivering. Zack immediately made his way over to the fireplace and threw some logs into it. He pulled a match from his pocket lit it and threw it on top of the logs. Within seconds the logs began to burn. He made his way around the living room pulling the cushions off the couch and throwing them on the floor in front of the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Zack grabbed the blankets off the back of the couch and tossed them over with the cushions.

"Just making it comfy so you can warm up in front of the fire." She smiled.

"Aww that's cute Zack." He made his way over to her and picked her up into his arms.

She giggled and laughed as he held her. "Zack!" She yelled playfully. He carefully dropped her onto the pile of blankets and cushions.

"Want some wine?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm thirteen."

"So? I won't tell." Kaitlyn nodded as Zack made his way towards the kitchen. She sat up and looked around. _This is so romantic. He's so thoughtful and handsome, and… _Zack returned with her glass and she stopped daydreaming. He sat down next to her and put the glasses on the floor. "Here." Zack said as he leaned forward and slowly unzipped her coat. She could feel her heart beating faster. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her coat off. The room was silent as they sat there together, only the occasional cracking of wood from the fire.

Zack looked her up and down. _She's beautiful. _The light from the fire illuminated the both of them as they sat there staring at each other. Zack took a sip of his wine and as he put it back on the floor his hand grabbed hers and they made eye contact. _Oh my god._ Kaitlyn thought to herself. He broke the silence.

"I remember the first time I saw you." He paused and took a sip of his wine. "You were four and I was nine. All of the X5's looked alike, you were different, always smiling and you had your long curly hair." She smiled at him and looked away one of her curls fell in front of her face. Zack's hand quickly brushed it out of the way and he cupped her face. "You're just as beautiful now as you were then." Kaitlyn looked into his eyes.

"Zack…" He pulled closer to her his hand still under her chin.

"Shhh, just go with it." His lips met hers and Kaitlyn could feel her heart melt in her chest. They kissed for a few minutes and Kailtyn was the first to pull away. "You ok?" He asked worried.

"Do you love me Zack?" She asked quietly. He gazed into her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I do." Zack didn't move his eyes from hers. He could feel his heart sinking, afraid that she wouldn't feel the same.

"I love you too." Both of them smiled and it broke the tension in the room. He leaned in for another kiss. "That was my first kiss Zack." She whispered.

"Want another one?" He questioned slyly. She giggled.

"Yeah, I would." Zack kissed her again and slowly pushed her back so he was on top of her. Zack's lips trailed down to her neck kissing her softly. "You know my father would kill you right now."

"I'd die a happy man then."

--

The next morning Kaitlyn woke up still laying in front of the fireplace her head on Zack's bare chest. His skin was warm against her cheek. She eyed the scene around her, two empty glasses, pillows all over the floor, various articles of clothing and a blanket carelessly thrown on top of them. Her sweater and jeans were tossed over near the couch, and she was way too comfortable to grab them.

"Morning sunshine." She tilted her head upright and rested her chin on his chest. His hand began to stroke her hair. "Sleep ok?" She nodded.

"The best I have in along time." He looked into her eyes as his fingers continued to trail through her hair.

"You're so pretty." He whispered to her. Kaitlyn laughed.

"No, I'm not."

"I'd hate to see what ugly looks like then." She giggled and nuzzled back into his chest.

"I love you so much Zack." Kaitlyn whispered. "I've missed you so much all these years." She swallowed. "I should have left with you that night." Zack tightened his grip around her as he thought back to the night of the escape.

"Shhh, its ok we are together now that's what matters." Kaitlyn closed her eyes and relaxed into his grip. "I've always been watching over you, just like I do the other X5s" Kaitlyn pulled her head off his chest and stared deep into his eyes.

"I mean that much to you?" She questioned. Zack swallowed.

"Yeah, you do." Kaitlyn smiled and giggled, she didn't feel so alone anymore.


	11. Confessions?

Since Kaitlyn had returned from her weekend with friends she had been acting strange

Since Kaitlyn had returned from her weekend with friends she had been acting strange. Lydecker watched her as she got her breakfast together. She hadn't been acting strange in a bad way, it just seemed like her head was in the clouds. Kaitlyn sat down next to him and began to eat with an ear to ear smile. He glared at her his expression was one of confusion.

"You ok daddy?" She asked looking up.

"Are you?" Lydecker watched as she took a sip from her glass of water and a bite from her apple.

"Of course." She said with a wide mouthed grin. Kaitlyn went back to eating and Lydecker continued to eye her. _Liar._

"What did you do this weekend?" The grin on her face disappeared almost instantly. She looked up from her food and stared at him. Lydecker raised his eyebrows urging her to answer.

"Just hung out with Jackie, went shopping." _Lie._ Lydecker knew something else was going on.

"You do that every weekend. Why so happy about it this time?" She sighed and rested her head on one of her hands. Her eyes got that innocent little girl look that she knew Lydecker could never resist.

"You're going to be mad." She said pulling out her best 'I'm sorry' tone.

"What happened?" Everything ran through Lydecker's mind at that moment. _Did she get hurt, no wait she wouldn't be so happy if she did. Max out her credit card? Drink? Smoke? Steal?_

"I met a boy daddy." Lydecker glared at her. _Oh god, no._ He would have preferred any of the other possibilities he had cooked up in his head then this.

"What did he do to you?" His tone was serious.

"Nothing he's just really nice."

"Nice how?"

"Dad you need to relax."

"About what?" _Shit. _Kaitlyn thought to herself, Brandon always picked the best time to show up.

"Your sister met a boy." She put her head on the table, she was going to lose. It was two against one. Brandon laughed.

"Over my dead body Kit Kat." Kaitlyn looked up to see them both staring at her. She felt like they could see right through her, as if they knew everything. "So what'd you do with him?"

"Nothing more than what you've done." She muttered. Brandon's jaw dropped to the ground. Lydecker just continued to stare at her.

"I swear to god Kat who is he I'll kill him." Kaitlyn just looked at her brother and grinned devilishly.

"Relax, there wasn't enough time for him to corrupt me." Lydecker had heard enough.

"Brandon go wait in the car." Kaitlyn stood up from the table. "Stay put, don't think your off the hook that easy." She groaned and sat back down. Brandon slowly walked out of the room his eyes remained on his sister. Once the door slammed Lydecker continued.

"Did you have sex?" Kaitlyn's eyes close and she rested her head against the back of her chair.

"Oh my god dad ew, I'm so not talking about this right now."

"Look at me now and answer the question." She rolled her eyes and looked into his.

"No, ok?" She sighed. "I have morals ok? I said I MET a guy, not kissed him, not had sex with him, not hugged him or even touch him in anyway. I MET a guy. Capice?" Kaitlyn took a breath.

"What's his name?" Lydecker questioned.

"Why so you can find out everything about him, then go to his house and embarrass me? I don't think so." He smiled his daughter knew him all to well. "By the way dad you seriously might want to consider worrying about Brandon in that department more than me. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a few grandkids running around out in the world." She picked up her garbage and walked away. Lydecker rested his head on the table and took a breath. _These fucking kids are going to kill me._

--

Kaitlyn walked out the door into the chilly Gillette air and over to her brothers dark blue SUV. He was waiting silently inside of it for her. She got in the passengers seat and slammed the door behind her. Usually this would be the part where Brandon would put the car in gear, but today was different. She could feel his eyes glaring at her.

"Look I just got the third degree from dad, I don't need it from you." Kaitlyn said as she adjusted her bag at her feet.

"I called Jackie this weekend; she said you weren't with her." Brandon said calmly. "I wanted to see if you felt like going to the movies." Kaitlyn swallowed and stared at the floor. She opened her mouth to respond but Brandon cut her off. "Look Kat I don't know what you're up to, but don't think I haven't noticed that you've been acting weird."

"Not everything I do is your business Brandon." Kaitlyn said softly as she lifted her head up to stare out the window. Brandon sighed heavily.

"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" He said still staring at her. Kaitlyn turned her head and looked into her brothers eyes.

"I'm growing up Brandon, I can't be you or dad's little girl anymore."

"Kaitlyn this has nothing to do with that—stop lying! That's all you've been doing for the past two months!" Brandon yelled.

"Shut the fuck up!" Kaitlyn screamed as she kicked her legs on his dashboard. "I'll do whatever I goddamn please! How many times have you lied huh?!" Brandon sat silently staring at his sister, he had never seen her this upset.

"Kat?" Brandon said softly as he moved his hand to brush her hair out of her face. She swatted his hand away.

"Just don't—stop, take me to school." Brandon nodded.

"Ok." He put the car in gear and drove away from the Lydecker home.


	12. Discovery

Four Months Later

**Four Months Later**

"What?!" Lydecker snapped at Agent Sanvadol who had just entered his office. The situation involving the X5s had stressed him out to the max. All of his Intel regarding the X5s had been compromised, 8 of them had completely disappeared off his radar and gone to ground. There was a mole somewhere inside of Manticore and he was hell bent on finding out who it was.

"This just came in from our agent in Phoenix, apparently it's from a few weeks ago but they didn't see the importance until now."

"Didn't see its importance?! I don't pay you fucking people to find importance in things! That's my job!" Lydecker yelled.

"I apologize sir, it was an oversight and I promise you it won't happen again." Sanvadol handed Lydecker the CD containing the surveillance and Lydecker slid it into his disc drive in his computer.

"Better not happen again." Lydecker grumbled under his voice like a pouting child. _Phoenix, Phoenix._ Echoed in Lydecker's head, _who was in Phoenix? Jondy had connections there and Krit. _"Which X5 is this in regards to?" He questioned.

"X5-599, Sir" _Of course._ Lydecker told himself, _who else besides Zack would cause me problems. _ A video popped up on Lydecker's screen, he could clearly see Zack but the girl in the video had her back to the camera. She moved closer to 599, he looked down at her and smiled then he kissed her, for a very long time.

"Why is this of any importance to me?" Lydecker shifted uneasily in his seat. He didn't like to think that his kids had lives especially Zack his CO, they were soldiers.

"It's coming sir." Lydecker continued to watch as the kiss ended. The girl spun around and began to walk away; Lydecker watched his best X5 grinned to himself and watch the girl's ass as she walked away. Lydecker's eyes rose away from Zack to the girl, his heart stopped. _Kaitlyn, no._ "I think we found our mole." Sanvadol said flatly. Lydecker sat stunned in his chair glaring at the picture, never would he have guessed that girl was his angel. _Kaitlyn how could you? _"The raid at 599's Salt Lake apartment is happening tonight. Where is your daughter sir?" Lydecker suddenly snapped out of his trance. _God, no._

"Get a helicopter ready, I'm going to Salt Lake." Lydecker ordered.

"Yes, Sir." Sanvadol said as he left the room. Lydecker stood up and grabbed his phone.

"Pick up, pick up!" Lydecker muttered to himself.

"What's up Dad?" Brandon's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Where is your fucking sister?" Lydecker growled as he pulled together his belongings.

"She said you told her it was ok to stay at Jackie's for the night." Lydecker closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. _No, Kaitlyn, No… _"Dad?" Brandon questioned.

"I'm going to Salt Lake for the night; I'll be home in the morning." Lydecker hung up the phone grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

It all made sense now to Lydecker. _How could I have been so stupid?! The disappearing for days on end… oh god._ Everything hit Lydecker like a ton of bricks. _Zack is the boy._ His little girl had fallen prey to one of his X5s, who was clearly using her. _I'll kill him I swear to god, if it's the last thing I'll ever do I will kill him. _He knew that once Zack felt that she was no longer of use to him he would kill her. Lydecker frantically ran his fingers through his hair trying to calm down; he couldn't believe what was happening. _She talked to me about him and I just let it go…_Guilt built up inside of him for not protecting his daughter. He just hoped that there was enough time left to get to her before anything happened to her. Lydecker took off sprinting down the hallway to staircase to the roof.

------------------------------

"Zack! Get up!" Kaitlyn she yelled upon entering his apartment. Zack pulled himself off the couch and caught her in his arms.

"Hello to you too, your quite energetic this evening." He muttered into her hair as he went to kiss her forehead, she pushed away from him.

"I'd love to fool around with you but not now, manticore is coming for you as we speak." She said frantically. Zack suddenly snapped to attention.

"Manticore tonight? I thought you said the end of the month!"

"What can I say, they want you bad." Zack was in the middle of pulling his boots on. "There here." He muttered.

"Seriously?" Kaitlyn walked over to the window and looked down. Four hummers were outside the building and there were several TAC teams running into the building. "How do you know these things?" Behind her Zack grabbed his gun off the counter along with a wad of hundred dollar bills.

"It's in the genes." Zack said with a grin. "Escape and Evade." He whispered to her as he opened the door.

"I missed that class." She groaned following him out the door.

"Well, Kat your about to learn." Zack led her to the end of the hallway and pulled open the window and stepped out onto the fire escape, Kaitlyn followed him uneasily. The building next door was an abandon warehouse. The roof was only a short distance across the alleyway, the only problem being it was eight stories up. "We're gonna have to jump." Zack said to Kaitlyn.

"You're not serious." She said with a nervous laugh. Zack was already standing on the rail, ready to jump.

"You'll be fine. Trust me."

"Zack! Don't leave me here!" She whispered frantically. Kaitlyn watched as he jumped easily to the roof of the warehouse. "Asshole." She murmured under her breath as she grabbed the railing to the stairs on the fire escape and pulled her body up onto the guard rail carefully balancing herself. Kaitlyn glanced down and instantly regretted her look downwards. It was a long fall to the ground. _Well Dad is gonna kill me anyway, if I fall to my death I'll cut out the middle man._

"Come on!" Zack yelled to her. She looked back and heard the TAC teams coming up the stairs. _Now or never… _She closed her eyes and jumped. Kaitlyn felt like she was flying through the cold air forever, and had never been as happy as she was when she landed with a thud on the roof. She was laying on her back when she opened up her eyes. Kaitlyn reached her arm up and Zack grabbed it and pulled her up. "You ok?"

"I've been way better." She grumbled attempting to brush herself off. Zack began to run towards the access door with Kaitlyn not far behind. As Zack reached the door he heard one of the TAC team members yelling into his radio.

"X5 is headed into the warehouse on the south side of 632 Washington, I repeat all units to the south side of 632!" Zack grabbed Kaitlyn and pulled her through the door. There was no doubt that she was slowing him down but he finally had someone he truly cared about and that was something he had always wanted. He loved her, and he couldn't just leave her behind.

-------------------------------------------

Lydecker arrived on the scene about fifteen minutes after his men did. The helicopter ride felt like it had taken forever. The scene around him seemed rather chaotic, as it always did when they were attempting to catch an X5.

"Where is 599?" He said as he grabbed a radio off one of the soldiers, trying to get a clue of what was going on.

"He got the drop on us before we got to the apartment, he jumped onto the roof of the abandoned warehouse next door we've got men searching the building now Sir."

"And Kaitlyn?" _Please say she wasn't here, it's all a mistake._

"There was a girl with him, sir. No one got close enough to confirm her identity." The solider told him. Lydecker sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead.

"Make sure the north side of the building is covered. Tazers only, I want them both alive."

"Yes, Sir." The man ran off to give orders. Lydecker turned and headed to the north side of the building that was going to be there best escape route. He wasn't going to let Zack run off with his only daughter.

--------------------

Kaitlyn and Zack ran through the hallways of the warehouse. Zack suddenly stopped; he was listening intently to Lydecker's men.

"In here." He whispered grabbing her arm and pulling her into a room. It looked like it used to be some kind of control room, it over looked the central part of the building and overlooked the room below. At some point there had been glass windows, but they were long gone. Zack pulled her down to the floor. "You're going out through there." He said as he pointed to where there had been windows.

"Zack! That's like a three story jump; I could just about do one!" She yelled at him.

"You're not jumping!" He said as he handed her a bent piece of metal. "Did you see the cable leading from here to the north side windows there?" She nodded. "We're on the third floor now if you slide down those cables from here to there it's going to take you out into to the alleyway. When you get outside keep running north I'll find you, if not you have your phone right?" Kaitlyn nodded again. "We'll meet up later; I'm going to distract them for you." He grabbed her head and pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you." He told her as he helped her onto the ledge.

"You too." She whispered back.

"Put your head down and keep your eyes closed when you hit the glass." She nodded and didn't look down this time; she had learned her lesson from before. Kaitlyn tried to think of this as a game. This reminded her of the zip lines she had played on when she was a kid, except there was a large risk of death to this. Making sure the metal was securely in place, she pushed herself off the ledge and began to slide down the cable. All around her she heard the TAC teams yelling to each other.

"There she is!"

"No don't shoot!"

"She headed out the north side of the building!"

Kaitlyn closed her eyes right before she hit the window. She felt the glass hit her face and the sound of it breaking all around her. Kaitlyn landed on her feet squatting, she pushed the hair out of her face and saw that she wasn't alone. She slowly looked up to see her father standing over her. His arms crossed with a gun in his hands, his icy blue eyes coldly staring down at her. She had seen this look before in his eyes, the night that he had killed Eva. He broke the silence.

"I thought you were going to have a quiet night in?" Lydecker said sternly. Kaitlyn swallowed afraid to move all she could do was breathe. "Get up." He growled at her. She slowly stood up and was eye to eye with her father. This was the angriest she had ever seen her father, his icy blue eyes tore holes in her. She slowly began to move her hand around to her back. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I don't regret anything." She said without breaking eye contact. "He loves me." Rage came over him as he grabbed her hair and pushed her against the wall. "Get off me!!" She yelled. _Come on Zack where are you?!?!_

"Get off you? Huh?! That's all you have to say to me?!" Lydecker growled into her ear. "I've given you everything you've ever asked for!!! This is how you thank me?" Kaitlyn's hand grabbed the gun she had at the back of her belt and flicked the safety off.

"Ten years Kaitlyn! Ten god dammed years I've spent on this! You ruined it in a matter of weeks." He pushed her head into the wall and let go of her hair and stepped back. "He's using you Kaitlyn, He doesn't love you and when he's done with you, he will kill you." She stared at Lydecker trying to catch her breath.

"Fuck you." She muttered. "I'm telling you how it is, and I'm not asking you for permission, I love him and he loves me and I'll do what I want." Lydecker stood across from her. How he wished she was still a little girl. Everything was so much more complicated now, she had grown up and she was a woman. He turned his back to think and felt a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Kaitlyn stood with the gun in her hand. She had just shot her father. _Run, Run!!!!!! _ She wanted to run but her legs wouldn't move. Her father put his hand up on the hole she had just made in his shoulder and turned around and looked at her in horror. That's when she took off. Everything became a blur, her legs felt like jelly as she ran as fast as she could. _I just shot him oh my god. Is he ok? What am I doing??!_ As she reached the end of the alleyway she started running north, just like Zack told her to do. She had run a block north when it felt like her back was being stabbed, and she fell. Two soldiers had hit her with tazers. She began to seize violently on the blacktop. Kaitlyn lay on her back and watched her father's men close in around her. Her father's head came into her view and everything went black.


	13. Decision

Kaitlyn rested her head against the cold glass of the humvee window. Every time she took a breath a sharp pain would shoot through her chest. She knew it was from the tazers, and her hard fall on the black top. For most of the trip back to manticore she had been unconscious. She knew she was back in Wyoming, which meant that she had at least slept through the plane ride from Salt Lake. Her father was not inside the car with her as she had thought he would have been.

Kaitlyn glanced around and counted that five of her fathers men where with her. _Maybe I am a threat. Five guys? Guess I should be proud of myself. _She could see out the dashboard of the hummer and could see the entrance to manticore coming up. _Home sweet home._ She thought to herself. The handcuffs that she had on were on very tight and cutting off her circulation. It was just another thing that was hurting her. Kaitlyn moved her hands around in an attempt to get some blood flowing, but no luck. Her hands were starting to get very cold.

The hummer came to a stop in front of the main building and the TAC soldiers started to get out of the vehicle. As doors opened and closed Kaitlyn could feel the cold air hitting her. She leaned back in her seat and breathed deeply, again a sharp pain shot through her body. Suddenly her door opened and one of the men grabbed her arm and pulled her from the hummer. Her feet hit the ground and she pulled away from the soldier that had grabbed her.

"Get off of me!" She yelled. He shoved her to the ground and Kaitlyn groaned in pain. He pulled her up and grabbed her chin as she struggled to pull away. The soldier slammed her back into the side of the hummer to get her attention.

"Listen to me now bitch." He growled at her as his grip tightened on her jaw line. "You may think that you special because you're the directors daughter." Kaitlyn pulled away again and he forced her head back. "But right now to me you're no different to me then the rest the scum that inhabit this dump. So don't pull this princess shit with me. Understand?" Kaitlyn again attempted to pull away. His grip tightened once again as he pushed her back into the car and she yelped in pain. "Answer me now or else you'll taste the pavement again."

"Yes." Kaitlyn grumbled as she struggled to breathe.

"Yes what?" He asked as he let go of her chin. She turned her head away and looked at the ground.

"Yes sir." Kaitlyn muttered.

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Kaitlyn didn't answer. He grabbed her arm and led her inside. They walked down the hallways of the quiet facility. She realized that he was taking her up to the administration wing where her father's office was. Kaitlyn gulped and was tempted to try to fight him off again. As he lead her down the final hallway to her fathers office Kaitlyn had never been so fearful. She took a deep breath and again she felt a sharp pain. _Well I'll be dead in a matter of minutes so the pain won't matter._ The doors to her father's office opened. He was sitting behind his desk on his computer, his eyes didn't even move from the screen as the both of them walked in. His arm was in a sling due to the gunshot wound he had received earlier.

"Sit." Lydecker said sternly and pointed with his good arm towards the chairs in front of his desk. The solider guided Kaitlyn towards the chairs and pushed her down into one. The guard left the handcuff keys on her father's desk. "Thank you soldier, you are excused." The solider saluted Lydecker turned on his heels and left. There was an awkward silence in the room for several minutes as Kaitlyn shifted uneasily in her seat. Lydecker finally turned his head and stared at his daughter. Her face was pretty beat up most likely from her fall to the pavement and he could see her flinching every time she would take a breath. Most of the time he would have been worried but for once he wasn't. He hardly even knew the girl sitting in front of him anymore. "Anything to say?" Lydecker said blankly. _What could she possibly have to say? She betrayed me, shot me, and lied. _

"He loves me." Lydecker chuckled. "If he loves you so much then where is he now? Why didn't he save you?" Kaitlyn swallowed. "I'm not all that sure what you thought that you had between the two of you, but there isn't anything there Kaitlyn." Lydecker said flatly as he watched her shift in her seat. "He used you as his decoy so he could get away." Kaitlyn could feel her blood boiling; he was playing mind games with her. She knew that Zack loved her, but apart of her couldn't help but believe her father.

"He wouldn't do that." Kaitlyn said softly as her eyes shifted to the floor. Lydecker stood up and leaned across his desk.

"Look at me and tell me that." He said coldly. Kaitlyn sat in silence her eyes still staring at the floor. "You can't tell me that because you hardly know him." He began to walk around his desk towards his daughter. "I never expected this from you. Why would you do this? Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Do you think I care?" Lydecker glared at her, she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I do." She replied answering the latter question.

"Well imagine my surprise last night when Agent Sanvadol handed me a tape with my daughter making out with my best X5, did you think you'd get away with this huh?"

"I was kind of hoping too." She said sarcastically. Lydecker moved in front of her to lean against his desk.

"Look at me." Kaitlyn's eyes glared up at her father. "Two options, that's all you have here Kaitlyn." She bit her lip. "The easy way come home with me, and follow my rules – no phone, no TV, no computer, no nothing. For a very long time, and keep in mind that you have indefinitely lost my trust in you forever." Lydecker took a breath before finishing. "Or stay here; I have a cell with your name on it." Kaitlyn smiled and leaned back in her chair.

"Could you take these off?" She said as she held her hands towards her father not even acknowledging what he had just said.

"Cute." Lydecker said blankly looking down at her. He was slightly surprised by her response and thought that this was her way of saying she wanted to come home. But he wanted to see where she was taking this, so he grabbed the handcuff keys off his desk and undid them for her. As he took them off she rubbed her hands over her wrists. "Did you hear what I said?" He asked sternly. Kaitlyn began to laugh, and smiled at Lydecker.

"What would ever posse you to think that I would ever leave here with you?" Lydecker was slightly horrified at her response; he never thought she would opt to stay at manticore. "I'll take the cell, thanks."

"You're going to throw away your entire life for Zack?" Lydecker yelled at her pushing himself off his desk and getting in her face. "Kaitlyn don't do this, he would throw you away in a heartbeat."

"You would too, so it doesn't really matter now does it?" Kaitlyn whispered into his ear. Lydecker backed away and looked down at his daughter, all the hatred in the world was in her eyes as she angrily stared at him. Kaitlyn stood up and took a few steps away from her father. "Can I go to my cell now?" She said blankly with no emotion. Lydecker came up behind her and grabbed her arm to lead her to her cell. Kaitlyn pulled away quickly.

"Walk." He told her sternly. Kaitlyn began to walk and stopped at the exit to her father's office waiting for the door to open. Lydecker was close behind her watching her every move. As she stepped out into the hallway one of the soldiers grabbed her arm, she didn't pull away. She calmly walked down the hallway, with Lydecker following close behind.


	14. An Apology Will Never Be Enough

"Hello Deck." Renfro said as she strolled into Lydecker's office. He glanced up from his paperwork and nodded acknowledging her presence. "I wish that I could be here on better circumstances."

"Yeah me too." Lydecker muttered into his paperwork. He had mixed emotions about everything that happened; he wasn't sure whether to be sad, embarrassed, angry, or concerned. But no matter how he felt one thing was sure, Kaitlyn had made him look like a fool.

"Where is she?" Renfro questioned as she sat down in front of Lydecker's desk.

"Solitary, she better make herself comfortable because she's going to be there for a long time." He said emotionless.

"The committee has a proposal for this unfortunate situation." Lydecker glanced up at her.

"What?" No matter what she said, he wasn't going to like the answer. Renfro grabbed one of the picture frames on his desk and ran her fingers across it. It was a picture of Lydecker, Brandon and Kaitlyn when they were younger.

"They would like to try out an experimental procedure on her." Lydecker laughed stood up and snatched the picture from her hands.

"As long as I'm alive you won't put a fucking finger on her." She raised her eyebrows.

"No matter what Deck, I'm going to have to go through with it. You have two options. You can help me, or I'll kill you and do it anyway." Lydecker sighed and sat down resting his head in his hands. "Knowing you Deck, I'd assume you'd like to be there for her."

"What's the procedure?" He rubbed his forehead and tried to relax.

"Mixing her DNA with X5 DNA."

"We've already done that." Lydecker groaned.

"Committee wants to try it again." She stood up. "Think about it Deck, but think fast." Renfro turned on her heel and walked out.

----------------------------------

Kaitlyn laid curled up in her bed, well not her bed but the bed in her cell that had become all too familiar to her. There wasn't much else to do besides stare at the walls and lay in bed. But she was stronger then her father thought. _I'll show him._ She knew that he had figured she would only last a few days but it had been two weeks now that she stayed in her cell. Both of them were waiting it out to see who would give in first and Kaitlyn wasn't giving in anytime soon.

As she lay in her cell she could hear footsteps in the hallway. _Probably the guards making their rounds._ She could hear them stop outside her door and she raised her eyebrows. Kaitlyn sat up in her bed ready to put up a fight with anyone who was about to bother her. The cell door slid open and two guards entered.

"Can I help you?" She asked sarcastically. Neither one of them said anything. "Fuck off." Kaitlyn muttered as she went to lie back down in her bed. One of them grabbed her arm and she pulled away before standing up. "Don't fucking touch me!" She screamed. Again the guard grabbed her, this time overpowering her and pushing her into the wall. Kaitlyn kicked and screamed in his hold. "Get off me!" She yelled. The guard said nothing as she continued her attempt to fight him off. Kaitlyn suddenly felt a pinch in her side and looked down to see the other guard injecting her with some kind of drug. Moments later she could feel her body weaken, and her vision blur before passing out.

---------------------------------

Lydecker sat in his office gazing at the picture of his daughter on his desk. _What am I doing?_ He asked himself. His options were limited here, follow Renfro's order and turn his daughter into a transgenic experiment or attempt to escape with his two children. As much as he wanted to up and leave he knew that Manticore would find him and kill him eventually and do whatever they wanted with Kaitlyn and Brandon.

He nervously tapped his hand on his desk as he again examined his options, both were bleak. _Am I really about to do this? Am I about to make her X5?_ Lydecker sighed heavily and continued to stare at her picture on his desk. _I'm so sorry Kaitlyn, so sorry._ The door to his office opened and Agent Sanvadol walked in.

"Yes?" Lydecker muttered without looking away from the picture.

"She's ready; all we need is your ok." Sanvadol said. Lydecker took one last glance at the smiling girl on his desk. He nodded.

"Do it." He said blankly. Sanvadol turned and walked out. _I'm sorry Kaitlyn._


	15. Run

One of the nurses walked in and fidgeted with her IV.

"Why am I here?' Kaitlyn asked.

"Just routine." She answered nonchalantly. Kaitlyn eyed her suspiciously before returning back to staring at the ceiling. The nurse walked to the foot of the bed and grabbed the chart and wrote a few things down before walking back out the door. Kaitlyn sighed heavily and closed her eyes. She dozed in and out for awhile before hearing the door click open again. She hardly even acknowledged it until she heard a whisper.

"Kaitlyn!" Her eyes snapped open.

"Zack?" He grinned back.

"You really think I'd let you go that easy?" Kaitlyn smiled. Zack approached the side of the bed and leaned over to loosen her restraints. He undid both arms before he stood back up and dropped his backpack to the floor. Kaitlyn quickly sat up and undid the restraints on her legs. "We have to move fast I could only get the security cameras down for a few minutes." Kaitlyn hopped out of the bed and Zack handed her a ball of clothes. "Get dressed." Zack carefully approached the door and stood watch while Kaitlyn got dressed.

"How did you get the security cameras down?" Kaitlyn question as she pulled the sweater he had given her over her head.

"The right amount of money can get you anything." He said blankly as his eyes continued to monitor the hallway.

"You didn't have to." Kaitlyn answered. Zack took his eyes off the door and looked back at her as she pulled on a pair of jeans.

"You're worth it."

"I need you to promise me something though." Kaitlyn said as she sat down on the floor and pulled on her socks and shoes.

"What." Zack said blankly as his eyes returned to the hallway.

"If I can't keep up, or I fall behind, leave me." Zack opened his mouth to retort, but Kaitlyn snapped back. "Just don't Zack, as much as I would rather be with you than here, I'll survive here because of my father. You won't because of him." Zack looked back at her while she stood up and pulled her jacket on.

"Ok." He said blankly.

"Promise me Zack."

"I promise." He said softly. Kaitlyn appeared at his side and Zack handed her a gun. "You ready?" He asked.

"Never been readier." She said as she stuck the gun in the back of her pants.

"Follow me." Zack opened the door and the two of them snuck out into the hallway.

-----------------------

"Sir!" Agent Sanvadol called as Lydecker walked down the hallway. Without skipping a beat Lydecker answered.

"What?" His pace remained steady as he made his way back to his office after a meeting with the committee.

"The security cameras are jammed up again." Lydecker rolled his eyes. _This is like the third time this month._

"What do you need me for then, fix them." _Do I have to state the obvious to everyone around here?_

"There working on it sir." Lydecker stopped suddenly and turned around and stared down at his subordinate.

"Then why are you bothering me?"

"There is reason to believe that this isn't the same issue that it's been." Sanvadol said. Lydecker looked at him up and down before returning to his walk.

"I'm going to the control room, brief me on the way there."

---------------------------

As Zack pushed the door open to the yard Kaitlyn felt the cold Wyoming air hit her face. _I need to move to California or something, I'm so sick of being frozen to death._ She ran behind Zack over to one of the gates that led out to the woods. He pulled his lock picking kit out and started to work on the padlock that was keeping the gate closed.

"After this we should be ok." He whispered.

"How can you be so sure?" Kaitlyn asked as she looked over her shoulders keeping a watch for any guards.

"The alarm still hasn't gone off yet, once we get into the woods it won't be as easy for them to figure out where we are." As Zack finished the lock snapped open and he grinned. "Piece of cake." He said as he pulled the lock out and opened the gate. "Ladies first." He said slyly to Kaitlyn. She giggled and walked through the gate. Zack followed her and shut the gate before running up the hill out of the clutches of Manticore.

-----------------------------

"What the hell is going on in here?" Lydecker yelled as he entered the control room. The four men running around hectically trying to find the source to the camera problem stopped in their tracks and stared at the colonel.

"Cameras are down again sir." One man said.

"Stand at attention." Lydecker growled and all four men immediately fell into line. "Which on of you is Charles Stanton?" The third man in line stepped forward.

"Me sir." Lydecker stood right in front of him.

"Why was $15,000 dollars wired into your bank account this past weekend?" Charles went wide eyed and swallowed.

"My brother owed me money sir, he was finally paying it back to me." Lydecker grinned.

"I'm sure." Lydecker's hand moved around to the back of his pants and grabbed his gun. He clicked off the safety and held it to the young man's head. "I'd like the real story now, and keep in mind I'm holding a loaded gun to your head." Charles swallowed.

"Someone offered me 15 grand to mess up the cameras today, I'm broke I needed the money." He said his voice quivering.

"Who?" Lydecker asked coldly as he pushed the gun further against his head.

"I'm not sure sir, but based on the pictures I've seen, I'd say it was X5-599." Lydecker bit his lip and swallowed. _Motherfucker._ Within seconds Lydecker fired the gun and the man fell to the floor.

"Keep that in mind men, if any amount of money is worth your life, then take a bribe." He said coldly as he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. As Lydecker entered the hallway he turned to Sanvadol. "How long have the cameras been down for?"

"About 45 minutes sir." _Kaitlyn no._ Lydecker took off at a sprint towards the infirmary.

-----------------------

Kaitlyn ran through the woods following Zack. It had been nearly a mile run from the building, and she was keeping up rather well with the X5.

"Not bad Kat." He said with a laugh.

"I'm in better shape than I though." She said.

"Not much further." Zack answered. The two continued to sprint off towards freedom.

--------------------

Lydecker opened the door to his daughter's room to find nothing. He was breathing heavily as he checked the bathroom and the room. She had left quickly; her hospital gown was in a heap on the floor along with an empty backpack. Lydecker put his hand on the mattress to see if it was still warm. It was ice cold. He knew he was far too late, and she was long gone. Both of his hands grabbed the back of his head as he became furious.

"Goddamnit!!" He yelled as he grabbed his phone and tossed it across the room. He paced back and forth across the room trying to figure out his next move. The problem was there wasn't one.

--------------------

"How much money did I cost you?" Kaitlyn questioned as she sat calmly next to Zack in his SUV. They were now at least a mile from Manticore.

"Doesn't matter Kat." Zack said blankly as he continued to drive.

"No really I'm curious. I want to know what I'm worth." She said with a giggle. Zack took his eyes off the road and focused on the girl next to him, and smiled.

"Let's just leave it at your worth enough for me to risk my life for." He turned back to the road.

"Zack?" Kaitlyn whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She said softly. "And for what it's worth, I'd do the same for you."


	16. X5 332500478398

Kaitlyn crashed down on the hotel bed exhausted from the day's events. _Ugh I'm so tired. _She pulled her arm up to her forehead and rested it there. Her eyes crept shut momentarily before they opened again. She brushed the stray pieces of hair that had fallen into her face back and allowed her arm to fall into her tangled hair. The door to the room shut and she glanced over to make sure it was Zack.

"Don't leave the door open like that again." He said sternly. Kaitlyn sighed.

"I knew you would be coming up and I didn't want to get up, I'm tired." She muttered as her eyes fell closed again.

"You ok?" Zack asked.

"I think I'm just getting a cold or something, I'm warm." She could feel the bed move as Zack lay next to her. His warm hand touched her forehead.

"You do feel a little hot." She pushed herself up to sit on the bed.

"I think I'll shower… That usually makes me feel better." Zack nodded and nuzzled his head into one of the pillows on the bed. Kaitlyn kicked her shoes off and stood up walking towards the bathroom. As she walked her legs felt a little wobbly. _That's weird. _She thought to herself as closed the door over slightly and put her hands on the sink to steady herself. Her hair fell untamed around her face as she stared into the sink. _I'm so tired; I've never felt like this before._ She shook her head and looked up at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were blood red, and dark circles formed under them. _I look fucking awful! _ As she continued to look at herself her vision blurred. _Ugh, what's wrong with me? I've never felt this shitty!_ Kaitlyn blinked a few times trying to clear her vision but to no avail. She could feel her arms beginning to shake and suddenly she could no longer support herself. Kaitlyn crashed to the ground and began to seize violently.

-------------------------

_I can only imagine how pissed off Lydecker is… Probably sitting in his office planning my demise. _Zack grinned to himself as he pictured a defeated Lydecker in his office cursing the day he created X5-599. His grin slightly subsided after a few minutes and he shifted on the bed to get more comfortable. This was the first time in weeks he was relaxed, Kaitlyn was with him safe and sound. He had spent an enormous amount of time paying off Manticore guards, and planning her escape. It all went to plan and every cent he had spent was worth it. _I might be a poor man, but I'm happy._ He sighed. Zack's short period of relaxation ended when he heard a crash in the bathroom.

"Kat!?" He yelled tensing up. There was no response as he pulled himself off the bed. "Kat? You ok?" Again there was no response as he made his way towards the bathroom. He stopped in front of the door and rested his hand on the slightly ajar door. "Kaitlyn?" He said softly as he pushed the door open. What he saw in front of him almost left him in shock. He was a commanding X5 officer trained to handle almost any situation, but he could hardly believe what he saw. "Fuck." He muttered as he kneeled down next to the seizing girl. Zack had seen this with all his brothers and sisters and had dealt with it himself. But he had no clue what was happening. His hand cupped her cheek. "Kaitlyn?" Her eyes opened slightly.

"Zack?" She whispered. "What's happening?"

"You're having a seizure." He said as he stroked the side of her face. "I'll be back in a second." Zack said as he went to stand up. As he did her hand shot out and grabbed his forearm.

"Don't go." She managed to mutter.

"It's ok, shhh, I'll be right back, I promise." He whispered. He bent over and kissed her forehead easing the momentary separation. Zack stood up and ran into the bedroom. He grabbed his bag from the floor and unzipped it. After a few moments of digging he turned the bag over dumping the contents out onto the bed. Zack pushed the clothes and other objects out of the way and finally found what he was looking for, a bottle of Tryptophan. He raced into the bathroom and kneeled at Kaitlyn's side.

"I'm back." Her eyes slightly opened, before drifting closed again. He took the top off the bottle and shook some of the pills into his hand. "Kaitlyn I need you to take some of these pills, you'll feel better." She groaned slightly and opened her mouth. He put two of the pills in her mouth. "Try to swallow." Zack said as he grabbed one of the cups on the sink and turned the faucet on to fill it with water. He put the cup down on the floor and pulled her between his legs and pulled her upright, her back was against his chest. "Here have some." Zack handed her the cup of water. She cupped the flimsy cup in her hand and pulled it towards her lips. As her body shook the water dripped over the sides.

After several sips of water and a few more pills the shaking began to subside. Zack held her tightly in his arms and her head had fallen against his shoulder. She still shook every few minutes even though she was half asleep. He ran his fingers through her long curly hair and rubbed her back.

"Shhh, its ok, I'm here." Zack whispered. He continued to run his fingers through her hair some of her hair parted near her neck. _No._ Zack thought to himself as his eyes saw a few markings on the back of her neck. He pushed her hair aside and he bit his lip, he was looking at a barcode. No longer was he holding Kaitlyn Jessica Lydecker, he was holding X5-332500478398.


	17. Phone Call

"Lydecker." He answered his phone blankly. Regardless of who was on the other end he knew he didn't want to talk to anyone.

"You son of a bitch." The voice on the other end muttered. _Zack._ He knew that voice from a mile away. _Keep calm he wants to get a rise out of you._ He told himself.

"599, nice to hear from you." Lydecker said sarcastically.

"I knew you were the devil's incarnate, but your own daughter?" Zack answered coldly.

"You don't understand the situation." He said blankly.

"Your damn right I don't understand. I thought she was your pride and joy? Your little girl?" Zack said. Lydecker bit his lip.

"None of this would have happened if it hadn't been for you." He retorted. "You think I'm not going to find you?" He could hear Zack laugh on the other end of the phone.

"You've done such a good job for the past ten years. I guess I should be scared." Lydecker could feel his anger rising in his chest.

"You put a fucking finger on her and I'll kill you." Lydecker said loudly. "You understand me? This is no longer about just you and your brothers and sisters. You fuck with my daughter and I will make sure your death is long and painful you stupid piece of shit." Lydecker had risen from his chair and was now standing above his desk.

"Did I hit a nerve Donald?" Zack said slyly. "How do you know I'm not already fucking with her?" Lydecker remained silent, he knew better then to respond. "Ahh… I've got your attention now don't I?"

"What do you want?" Lydecker growled.

"I don't want anything, you on the other hand want something I have." Zack said softly.

"And I'm going to make sure you never see her again."

"Where is she?" Lydecker demanded.

"Away from you…" Zack paused. "Which is the safest place for her to be." With that the line went dead. Lydecker stood paralyzed in fear. He knew Zack would stay true to his word and his hope of seeing his daughter soon died suddenly.

------------

Lydecker sat alone in his office as he had so many times before. Except now his daughter was gone. He knew that the chances of ever finding her were slim, practically nonexistent. Out of all the X5's she could have ended up she ended up with 599, his strongest and best solider. _He'll put her somewhere where I can never find her._ Lydecker stood up and made his way over to his file cabinet and opened it. He thumbed through the numerous folders before finding the one he was looking for.

332500478398: Kaitlyn Jessica Lydecker.

332500478398, his daughter's designation. He knew she was far from just a number as he knew with all his kids. There was a story behind each of them. Lydecker opened the folder to find his daughter's mug shot staring back at him. Her dark eyes filled with hate stared at him, she looked so cold, so angry.

He pulled the picture from the folder before sliding the folder back into its place and shutting the cabinet. He walked over to his desk and pulled out two thumbtacks. Turning around Lydecker stared at the twelve pictures of the X5's who had escaped in 2009. There were a few recent pictures as well on the wall mainly of 599. He placed the photo on the wall and pushed the tacks into the wall. There was now a thirteenth escapee tacked to his wall. 332500478398, his angel.


	18. Don't Let Him Win

Kaitlyn groaned as she awoke from her deep sleep. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned. Her head throbbed. _What the hell happened last night?_ As she opened her eyes she remembered, and realized how far away she was from the world that she knew. She rolled over and found Zack sound asleep in the queen size bed next to her. She eyed the crummy motel room and recalled the night's events.

"_Kaitlyn?" Her eyes opened slightly._

"_Zack?" She whispered. "What's happening?" _

"_You're having a seizure." He said as he stroked the side of her face. "I'll be back in a second." Zack said as he went to stand up. As he did her hand shot out and grabbed his forearm. _

"_Don't go." She managed to mutter. _

"Zack." She grumbled. There was no response from the man lying next to her. "Zack!" She said louder as she nudged his shoulder.

"What?" He muttered. Zack rolled over onto his side to face Kaitlyn. She remained on her back staring at the ceiling. He scooted a little closer to her and put his arm around her slender waist.

"What happened last night?" Zack sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I don't know how to tell you this." He said blankly.

"What?" Kaitlyn said as she sat up. He said nothing as he looked at her.

"Your father…" Zack started but he realized he hadn't a clue what to say. She raised her eyebrows.

"My father what?" She snipped. Then the night events came into her mind again.

"_Zack?" She whispered. "What's happening?" _

"_You're having a seizure." _

Kaitlyn's eyes opened widely. _Oh my god, no he wouldn't. _She remembered seizures were a side effect to the X5's DNA. Quickly she stood up and ran towards the bathroom. Her hands quickly gathered her hair and pulled it up so she could see her neck in the mirror. Kaitlyn's heart froze as from the corner of her eye she could see a barcode on the back of her neck.

"Oh my God!" She gasped. Only a few seconds later did Zack solemnly appear at the door to the tiny bathroom. His eyes were filled with sadness. Kaitlyn stood in shock, _how could he do this to me!! _"I think I'm going to be sick." She muttered as her knees gave in and she fell to the floor. Her head was only inches from the toilet as she began to throw up. Zack kneeled behind her and gathered her hair.

"Shhh its ok, I'm here." He whispered as he rubbed her back. Kaitlyn held the side of the toilet and tried to catch her breath.

"How could he?" She whispered. After a few minutes Kaitlyn leaned away from the toilet and wiped her mouth with her forearm.

"You ok?" Zack asked as he stood up.

"I don't think I ever will be." Her voice was hardly even a whisper as she sat in shock.

"This is what he wants is for you to give up Kaitlyn, you have to be strong now, or he wins." Zack practically ordered his commanding officer side kicking in. She turned to look at him. "Don't let him win Kat, don't." Her head nodded and he leaned over and helped her stand up. Seconds after she stood she leaned into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, in an attempt to provide some sense of comfort.

"Zack?" She said softly.

"Yeah." He questioned as his fingers ran through her long hair.

"I won't." She whispered. "I won't let him win, but I need you." Zack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded.

"I'll always be here for you Kat." He whispered. They stood cuddled into one another in the doorway for a very long time. The world Kaitlyn Lydecker had known was gone and she was about embark on a whole new adventure.

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Hey guys thanks for the reviews! It motivates me to keep going, keep it up!


	19. Turn Up the Heat

**San Diego, California, 2019**

The past few months had been eye opening for Kaitlyn. She had been all over the country and discovered a new life for herself. For so many years she had listened to everything her father had told her and never thought about what made her happy. But now she was happy and she knew who she was.

Kaitlyn had grown her hair longer and dyed it blonde. She straightened her hair now instead of letting it curl. No longer did she look in the mirror and see her mother, she saw herself. She grinned to herself as she stared at the mirror. _Life is good._ Kaitlyn walked from her bedroom into the living room in her new apartment. She had only been in San Diego a few weeks now, it wasn't the nicest place she had ever seen but it was way more scenic then Gillette, and a lot warmer. _Anything is more scenic than Gillette._

Zack had given her the keys to the apartment, and told to expect him soon. When he didn't give her a hint on where he was going it usually meant he was off to see some secret informant. She couldn't wait until he got there, it was boring with out him around. Not to mention the past few days all day long she had been thinking about him. His piercing blue eyes, his built chest, and his muscular arms. _He's so fucking hot. I'm so lucky. _Kaitlyn told herself.

They had been together for nearly six months and she still hadn't had sex with him. She was still a virgin and wanted to make sure everything was right before she gave herself to him. Zack respected that and told her he was game whenever she was ready. But Kaitlyn knew apart of him was nervous not only because it would take their relationship to the next level but because if Lydecker ever found out all the details of their relationship he would kill him. Kaitlyn had always been daddy's little girl, and he would never accept the fact that she had grown up. Her mind strayed back to Zack, there was a fire inside of her today that nothing could get rid of him. _I want him so bad._

She grabbed her cell phone and dialed his number. After four or five rings he answered.

"I told you not to call me." He grumbled into the phone.

"I miss you Zack." She whispered. "Come see me."

"Kaitlyn…" He started, she cut him off quickly.

"Come tonight and I'll promise I'll make it worth your while." Kaitlyn whispered seductively into the phone. She heard him sigh.

"Maybe around six I'll be there, Don't get your hopes up." With that the line went dead. She grinned to herself. _Oh he'll be here._

* * *

The knob turned around eight that night. _Two hours late, but better than nothing. _Kaitlyn told herself. Zack entered the apartment and was greeted by Kaitlyn jumping into his arms and a deep kiss from her. The force of her jumping on him sent him back into the wall with a thump. But as Zack stood holding her dumbfounded, Kaitlyn hardly even seemed to notice. She pulled away from him and smiled.

"I've been waiting for you all day." She said seductively. Zack grinned as his eyes strayed to her very low cut top. He had been planning on yelling at her for interrupting him earlier, but suddenly that was no longer important.

"Oh yeah?" He questioned as his hands trailed from her back around to her ass and grabbed it. She giggled and unwrapped her legs from around his waist and lowered her feet to the ground. Kaitlyn grabbed his belt buckle and led him into the bedroom. Zack pushed her onto the bed and landed on top of her. _There is just something about her today… _Zack told himself as she moaned underneath him. Suddenly she grabbed his arms pushed him onto his back and she straddled him. Kaitlyn bent over so that her lips were next to his ear.

"I want you so bad babe." Zack's eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head. She was just fucking irresistible right now. But suddenly his conscious pulled him back to reality as his nose managed to catch the scent of her pheromones. _Heat, shit she's in heat! _Zack pushed her off him sending her in a heap to the floor next to the bed. He stood up quickly and tried to collect himself. "What are you doing?" She yelled at him.

"I can't do this with you right now." He said hesitantly.

"Why? You said you'd be ready when I was." She snipped back with a grin. In a matter of seconds she was on him again. "Trust me I'm ready now." She whispered into his ear. Her teeth began to nibble on his earlobe. Zack bit his lip and pushed her away. _God this is worse than any of the punishments Manticore put me through. They should add a girl in heat to there torture regiment. _

"You're not yourself right now."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You're in heat." Kailtyn raised an eyebrow questioning what he had just said. Zack knew about heat from what he had heard from his sisters. After a bit of research he had figured out it was because of their feline DNA.

"Your feline DNA, you know how a cat has mating cycles?"

"Oh my god." Kaitlyn muttered. She closed her eyes and groaned. "Why me?" She fell backwards onto the bed with her face in her hands.

Zack turned and walked out of the room. _What am I doing? _He asked himself. _She wants to give herself to me and I'm just walking away… _He almost turned back around but his conscious got the best of him. _You can't just take advantage of her, what if she regrets it?_ Zack sighed and made his way to the couch, it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Later that night Kaitlyn woke up sweating. After two cold showers she managed to get to sleep, but now it was worse. All that was in her mind was sex, nothing else mattered. _So this is what its like to be a guy… _Pulling herself out of bed she went looking for Zack. As much as she wished she could just go back to bed she felt like she was going to die if he didn't touch her. The TV was on in the living room, the volume was off but the screen was illuminating the dark room. Zack lay asleep on the couch, she grinned to herself. She crept over to the couch and straddled him. Zack slowly opened eyes to see Kaitlyn on top of him.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she gazed into his eyes and put finger to her lips signaling him to be quiet. Her hands slipped under his shirt and pushed it up to his shoulders. Zack closed his eyes and pulled his shirt over his head. He could feel her lips trailing over his stomach, chest and finally on his neck. "Kaitlyn…" He whispered.

"Come with me." Zack nodded as she led him back into the bedroom. This time Kaitlyn was the one to shove him onto the bed. He felt her lips collide with his and he pushed his fingers through her hair. Kaitlyn pulled away and looked into Zack's eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Zack asked, knowing if he waited another couple minutes to ask he wouldn't be able to stop himself. She nodded moving down to his belt and undoing it with her teeth. He felt like he was going to explode, she knew exactly what to do to push his buttons. Kaitlyn undid the button to his jeans with her hands and slowly pulled down his zipper with her teeth. Once the zipper was done she dragged his pants down his legs, pulling them off. Zack could no longer help himself, he grabbed her and pushed her onto her back. Kaitlyn grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. Zack wrapped his arms around her back and unclasped her bra.

"Oh baby." Zack muttered into her chest. As Zack pulled her bra away from her chest Kaitlyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel Zack's lips on her breasts kissing, sucking, nibbling, driving her crazy. _I'm far from daddy's little girl now._ Kaitlyn grinned and dug her nails into his back before moving one hand up to his neck and pulling his head closer to her mouth.

"Take me Zack." She whispered. Zack pulled his head up and looked into her eyes. "I wanna be yours." Zack glared at her devilishly and lowered his head to her neck and bit down…hard. Kaitlyn groaned out of pain and pleasure.

"You have no idea what you're in for babe." He told her. She grinned.

"Don't disappoint me solider."

* * *

Zack lay asleep next to her, they had gone at for hours he was exhausted. They had been at it for around 6 hours. _I was a virgin 6 hours ago, I just made up for a lot of lost time. _Kaitlyn closed her eyes and clutched the sheet to her chest. She was happy but it was just all unexpected. For years she had always envisioned her first time being perfect, not that this hadn't been. But maybe in a gorgeous hotel room, with rose petals all around the room. Kaitlyn shook her head trying to get those thoughts out of her head. Lydecker had placed those thoughts there years ago, that she wouldn't have sex until after she got married. But since her father was extremely overprotective he had also placed the "no dating until after your married" rule in her head to. She felt like she had become the opposite of everything he had wanted her to be. _Isn't this what I want to be though?_ She asked herself.

"Kat?" Zack startled her. "You ok?" She nodded. He motioned for her to come closer to him as she moved closer she felt his arms wrap around her. For the first time she felt like her life was a fairy tale, never had she felt as safe as she did right now.

"Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever leave me." Kaitlyn told him seriously, Zack laughed.

"Never baby." She pulled in closer to his hold and smiled to herself. _Yeah… this is who I want to be._


	20. Little Sister, Who Have You Become?

**San Diego, California, 2019**

**Two Months Later**

Brandon pulled himself out of the side of the hummer and walked over to join his father. On occasion he would join his father on his excursions of chasing the X5's around the country. This one however had special meaning to him; Zack was the X5 that was suspected of holding up in this crappy apartment building outside of Seattle. Zack knew where Kaitlyn was, and he had every intention of doing whatever he had to do to find her.

"Stay out of the way Brandon." Lydecker told his son as he glanced down at the building schematics.

"I'm going to just go sit in the car, so don't even pull that shit with me." Brandon said forcefully.

"I don't give a shit what you do Brandon just stay out of the way." Lydecker's radio went off and suddenly what his son was up to became less of a worry. Lydecker turned away to respond and Brandon wandered off to the side and leaned up against one of the hummers. His eyes slipped off to the right side of the building and he could see two people on the fire escape. Brandon tensed as he watched the two clamber down the side of the building. He glanced over at his father who was too wrapped up in what he was doing to notice what was going on. Brandon pulled out his gun and made sure it was loaded, he took one last glance at his father and took off towards the right side of the building.

* * *

Zack grabbed Kaitlyn's hips and lifted her from the last step of the fire escape to the ground. She landed firmly on her two feet and looked at him and smiled. He flicked some of her hair out of her face and grinned back. Even in a moment of danger it seemed like they were the only two people on the planet. He kissed her forehead and as he did their senses clicked in. Seconds later the sound of a gun cocking was heard behind them. Zack spun around and Kailtyn tensed as they looked at the man holding the gun. Kaitlyn's forehead wrinkled as she looked across the dark alley.

"Brandon?" She questioned.

"Don't move, either of you." He said coldly. Kaitlyn stepped in front of Zack shielding him from her brother. "I said don't move!" He yelled.

"Calm down." She said softly. Her eyes were locked with her older brother's eyes. "Zack go." Zack didn't move as he kept his eyes on Brandon. "Zack just go, I'll meet up with you." The tension in the alley could have been cut with a knife.

"Don't move." Brandon growled.

"Go!" She said sternly. She could feel Zack move behind her, as long as she was between him and her brother, Brandon wouldn't even consider firing the gun. She could hear Zack's footsteps as they began to get further away. "I'm the one you want, leave him alone." Brandon kept his gun steady on his sister, aware that she wasn't just a teenage girl; any move she made could become a deadly one. As they stood in the alley, the sky opened up and it began to rain, he sighed.

"Just give it up Kat, please come home."

"Brandon will you give it up please? Let me go, I'm happy." Brandon shook his head.

"He's nothing Kaitlyn, and he doesn't deserve you, it took him two seconds there before he ran off." The rain fell harder, and Kaitlyn sadly look at her brother whose spiked hair was slowly becoming matted to his head.

"Yeah well he wasn't exactly anxious to run back to Manticore and have daddy dearest torture him to death." She grumbled.

"Kat just give yourself up and it won't be bad." She remained frozen as she glared back at Brandon. He sighed heavily and took her silence as a no to doing this the easy way. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. She already knew what he was doing, getting Lydecker involved. As he flipped open his phone Kaitlyn moved and kicked the gun out of his hand. The phone fell out of Brandon's other hand in the process. He quickly grabbed her and held her in chokehold as she struggled to get loose. "I didn't want to do this the hard way." He said with his teeth gritted.

"I'm not going back! Let go of me Brandon!" She yelled. Kaitlyn could feel him attempting to readjust his grip on her, and she took her opportunity. She jumped into the air and flipped over his head landing behind him. She spun around and punched him in the jaw and kicked the side of his knee. Brandon hit the ground with a thud, and made no attempt to get up. His sister stood above him breathing heavily and gazing down at him. _Fuck,_ _What did I just do?_ She thought.

"Oh my god, Brandon." She muttered as she fell to her knees. _Oh god, what did I do? _She wanted to scream, cry, run to many thoughts were coming to her mind. As she kneeled next to her brother the steady down pour seemed to get worse.

"Brandon!" She whispered loudly. "Brandon please don't do this!" Kaitlyn checked his pulse. _It's strong._ However there was no reaction from her brother. She cupped her hands around his face. "Brandon!" She called again, still nothing. "Goddamnit!" She yelled as she slapped him across the face. "Brandon!" Silence remained in the alleyway. Tears began to trickle down her face but it was hard to notice the difference between her tears and the raindrops. "Brandon please." She whispered between her sobs. Kaitlyn cradled his cheek with one hand and stroked his head where a large bump was now forming from his fall, with her other hand and continued to sob over her unconscious brother's body.

As she cried she saw a light on the ground followed by a vibration. _His phone._ She swallowed her next round of tears, and leaned over to pick up the phone. _Withheld._ Was the name on the screen, but Kaitlyn knew who it was. Anger crept through her. She flipped open the phone and held it to her ear, and didn't say a word.

"Brandon?" Lydecker's voice came from the phone, she felt goosebumps forming on her arms. "Where are you?" He yelled. "I told you not to go anywhere!" She said nothing as she closed the phone and held it in her hand. Her anger boiled over and she threw the phone across the alleyway. It hit the brick building and shattered into pieces. _There isn't much time._ She told herself, her father would be here any second. Kaitlyn's eyes drifted to her brother.

"I'm sorry Brandon." She said choking back tears. "I'm so sorry, I love you so much." She whispered as she sobbed. She kissed his forehead and stood up. Kaitlyn took one last look at her brother, before she turned and ran down the alley. X5-398 disappeared into the night, her only brother remained unconscious behind her.

* * *

Lydecker walked back to humvee in the pouring after hearing from his men that there was no one in the apartment. But his men were scavenging the area, so there was still a small chance that one of the X5's was still in the area. Upon arriving at the vehicle he found it empty. _Fucking kids, never listen to a word I say._ He thought as he ran his fingers through his wet hair.

"Brandon!" He yelled, there was no answer. "Shit." He grumbled to himself as his hand fumbled in his pocket looking for his phone. His hand grasped it, pulled it out and flipped it open hitting speed dial two, Brandon's number. It rang several times before it connected but there was no answer from the other side.

"Brandon?" There was no answer but he continued. "Where are you?" Lydecker didn't leave any room for an answer. "I told you not to go anywhere!" Nothing was said and the call ended. "Hello?" He questioned concerned just making sure the call was disconnected. Lydecker pulled the phone from his ear and looked at the screen. _Call duration 00:14. _He hit redial a moment later and this time it went straight to voicemail. _Something's wrong._

* * *

Kaitlyn couldn't even feel anything as she ran. Her vision was blurred by her tears but then again it could have been the rain for all she knew, she couldn't tell. It's not like it mattered anyway. _He's the only one I've ever been able to trust, who's always been there… What the fuck am I doing? _She gasped for air between her sobs. _Is Zack worth this? Is anything worth this? Since I was born he's the only one that's ever taken care of me. _Her legs continued to carry her she wasn't even sure how far she had run. She had even run across several streets and was almost hit by a few cars. But I didn't matter nothing mattered anymore. _What am I?_ She no longer knew.

* * *

Lydecker rounded the corner into the alley his breath stopped. He saw a body lying in the alley.

"Brandon! Brandon!" He yelled as he sprinted down the alley. Lydecker stopped in front of his son and fell to his knees. He could feel water seeping through his jeans at the knees because of the puddles in the alley. "Brandon?" He questioned as his fingers found a pulse on his neck. He breathed a quick sigh of relief. "Brandon?" He whispered again as he ran his hand over the side of his sons face. _Jaw might be broken. _He thought as assessed the situation at hand. Lydecker's eyes wandered down his son's body looking for a wound, or anything out of the ordinary. As his eyes looked towards Brandon's leg he could tell that his knee was out of place. _Fuck, he got his ass handed to him. Definitely one of my kids. _Thunder rumbled in the background as the rain continued to fall.

"Sir?" Sanvadol's voice interrupted his thoughts. Lydecker ran his fingers through his sons wet hair in an attempt to bring some type of comfort to the unconscious in front of him.

"He's alive." He grumbled as he continued to stroke his sons face. Sanvadol could see the vulnerability in his boss right now, and it wasn't something that happened often. Lydecker was a lock box when it came to emotions; the only people that had the key were his two children.

"I have some men on their way they can carry him back to the truck. I can get a helicopter ready as well and get him back to base ASAP." He said solemnly. Lydecker nodded and sighed.

"Thanks." He said softly.

* * *

The rain continued to pour, and Kaitlyn kept running. _Where the hell am I even going? _It didn't really matter though, the further she got from Manticore was, the better. As she came back down to earth a little a wailing car horn caught her attention. _Fuck, am I the street?_ She stopped and turned in time to be blinded by headlights. _God, I am so fucking stupid._ Kaitlyn was so caught of guard she couldn't even move, all she heard was the horn and the rubber screeching on the road.

Her hands hit the hood of the car with a bang as the car jerked to a stop. She was about three inches from the grill of the car. Kaitlyn breathed wildly trying to catch her breath from running, and the panic from almost being hit by a car. Her sopping wet hair hung in front of her face as she looked up enough to see the driver. It was Zack.

He sat in the driver's seat shaking his head at her and rubbing his forehead. It took a second but she finally was able to move around to the passenger's side and get in the car. When she sat down in the car she finally realized how wet she was, every inch of her was soaked with water. Kaitlyn continued to breathe heavily as she sat next to Zack.

"Why the fuck haven't you answered your phone?" He yelled at her. "I've been calling you for the past two hours!" _Two hours? I've been running for two hours?_ Kaitlyn went to pull her phone from her pocket but it wasn't there.

"I guess I lost it." She whispered.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Kaitlyn this isn't a game!" Zack continued to yell. "I thought you got caught! I stayed here for the past two hours looking for you, which is exactly what Lydecker wants! This is how he catches us, when we have a weakness! I can't keep putting myself on the line for you like this!"

"You didn't have to stay." Kaitlyn said quietly. She leaned back in her seat and gazed out the window. Her vision became cloudy again as her eyes started to tear. _He hates me; I nearly killed my brother to come back to a guy who hates me. _She rested her head on the window as tears began to trickle down her face.

"Kaitlyn?" Zack whispered his tone changed dramatically once he realized that something wasn't right. "Kat?" His hand moved to her back to provide some comfort. She said nothing and pulled away at his touch, he sighed to himself. _What the hell happened after I left?_ "Kat, what happened?"

"Nothing." She said softly through her sobs. Kaitlyn pulled away from him and got closer to the car door. _I'm sorry Brandon, I'm so fucking sorry, I'm sorry for being so fucking stupid! _She yelled in her head.

"Kaitlyn, will you talk to me?" Zack said sternly. She turned her head towards him and he became extremely worried. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, her lips were blue from the cold outside and she didn't even seem to notice. She glared coldly at him.

"And would you just drive?" She growled.

"I'm not going anywhere till you talk to me, what happened?" He asked again. Kaitlyn bit her lip and stared at him.

"Drive the fucking car Zack!" She screamed at him as she banged her fists on the dashboard. "If you wanted to fucking know then maybe you could have stuck around for the god dammed show!" She breathed heavily before she began sobbing again. Her forearms slid off the dashboard from being so wet and she fell with them. Her forehead rested on her knees and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Zack looked at the broken girl and closed his eyes. _Nothing is going to happen here, its best to get out of danger before dealing with this. _He put the car in drive and drove off.


	21. Be Happy

Gilette, Wyoming, 2019

"Well he has a dislocated knee, a pretty badly bruised jaw and a minor concussion from his fall to the ground. But he should be fine." Dr. Alan said as she placed Brandon's X-Rays on the light box. Lydecker stood beside her momentarily looking at the X-Rays before looking back through the two way window into his sons exam room. "He might need knee surgery, but we'll see. He needs to keep off it and ice it, we were lucky that we could pop it back into place." Lydecker crossed his arms across his chest and kept his glare on his son, who was now awake and flirting with one of the nurses in his room. _Well that didn't take long; at least I know that part of his brain wasn't affected by this._

"He should probably just stay in bed anyway for a few days with that concussion, no driving or anything like that." She continued. Lydecker rubbed his forehead. "I'd also say he should probably eat soft foods, not to aggravate his jaw any further." _Well there is one advantage to working at a secret government facility, top of the line doctors._ He nodded.

"Any meds?" Lydecker questioned. She smiled.

"Eh, not really, ibuprofen or something like that to keep the swelling down. But unless he's in pain I don't really think he needs anything else. He probably will need some physical therapy though." He glanced once more at Brandon before turning his head to Dr. Lauren Alan. _Well Brandon definitely got the best looking doctor on staff._ Dr. Alan had been at Manticore less than a year, she was a young woman in her late twenties. She had long blonde hair, green eyes, thin, smart, and very good at every task that was assigned to her. Lydecker noticed that he had let his eyes wander to long on the woman in front of him. _Ugh, grow up._ He told himself.

"Impressive Doctor." He said as he leaned back against the wall. Brandon wasn't the only flirt in the family, he had gotten it from somewhere. "How long have you been on staff?" She smiled and he cheeks turned red.

"Thank you sir, it will be a year next month."

"If everything turns out ok with Brandon, there might be a promotion in the very near future." Lydecker said with a smile.

"Sir, that isn't necessary. I'm just happy he's ok."

"No, it is. A strong work ethic and someone who is good at their work deserves to be recognized. Continue with that Doctor, it will take you places." She smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Colonel." He turned the conversation back to his son.

"He'll be here for a few days. Look in on him?" _Might as well give him something to look at if Brandon was going to be stuck here._

"Definitely, Sir." Lydecker nodded and turned on his heel and stopped for a minute and took a breath before entering his son's room.

* * *

Barstow, California

The rain continued to pour outside and the sun was beginning to poke through the clouds as a new day began. Zack had stopped at a hotel so that they could get some sleep. However, there was no sleep happening. Kaitlyn had showered and put on robe while her clothes dried. She had said nothing since her outburst in the car and he knew it wasn't going to be easy to get anything out of her. He had been watching her from across the room for the past hour, half heartedly flipping through a magazine. She sat on the windowsill, her back resting against the wall and her knees pulled to her chest.

"Kat?" He said softly. She turned her head slowly and looked at Zack. He was sitting across the room at the table. His head was resting in his hands and he looked exhausted.

"What?" She said softly as she turned her head back to staring out the window. Kaitlyn could here the sound of the chair shuffling against the carpet, and his footsteps. He sat at her feet and rested his head on her knees.

"Talk to me baby." He whispered. "Tell me what happened." Kaitlyn closed her eyes for a minute and could feel his fingers pushing her hair out of her face. She sniffled and wiped her nose with her arm.

"I'm a horrible person." She barley even whispered. He rubbed her thigh as a few tears fell from her eyes. "You hate me." She wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her robe. Zack closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled." She looked out the window. "I was scared, I thought he got you." Kaitlyn nodded.

"I know, it just didn't help." Zack didn't say anything he just continued to rub her thigh. He tilted his head to the side continuing to rest on her knees. "You know he's the only one who has ever been there for me, no matter what." She said keeping her gaze on her lap, and softly tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Who?" Zack asked.

"Brandon." He closed his eyes. _What did she do?_ "I mean I have you now, but when I was little and before my dad came into the picture." She stopped for a minute. "I mean Lydecker. But it was always me and Brandon, and it always has been." She sighed. "If I could change any of this, it would be him, some how make him understand, or just not be involved at all." Zack nodded as he continued to stroke her. Kaitlyn swallowed as more tears trailed down her face.

"He had taken out his phone, and was going to call for back up… I didn't even think Zack. I just acted; I remember kicking the gun out of his hand and then him hitting the ground." Zack slipped his hand into hers. "I think I broke his knee, and jaw…. I just sat next to him… He had a pulse, but I didn't mean…." Her voice trailed off and she began to cry again.

"It's ok baby." Zack whispered as he sat up and grabbed her into his hold.

"No, its not! Nothing is!" She sobbed. Zack grabbed her tighter and cradled her in his arms till she fell asleep.

* * *

Lydecker entered his son's room to find him still chatting up one of the nurses._ Just as I left him, fantastic._ She was sitting on Brandon's bed, her back to him, and laughing loudly about whatever they were talking about. Neither one of them seemed to notice him standing in the doorway. He rolled his eyes before loudly clearing his throat. The young girl turned and upon seeing Lydecker she immediately stood up, clearly flustered.

"Out." He said flatly.

"I apologize sir." She said softly as she lowered her head and walked out. Brandon's grin slowly disappeared from his face as he saw the look on his fathers face.

"Dad, that sucked." He said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah well, sorry for interrupting." Lydecker answered as he made his way to his son's bedside. He grabbed a chair on the way and pushed it close to Brandon's bedside. He sighed and sat down. "Well I'm glad to see your ok."

"Eh, I've been better." Brandon muttered as he leaned back into the pillows that the nurse had fluffed moments earlier for him. "What was her name anyway?" Lydecker threw his head back and rubbed his forehead.

"Brandon shut up. Do you realize why you're here?" He asked. Brandon nodded. "God you never listen, you and your sister are impossible." Brandon shrugged and looked away.

"What the hell happened in that alley?"

"I tripped." Brandon said softly. Lydecker laughed.

"Nice try. The truth would be nice now." He paused. "I have a folder in my office I can get which has the pictures of the X5s if you can identify which one it was." Brandon went to talk and Lydecker interrupted him. "Don't tell me some BS story either that it wasn't one of them, because I can tell its one of their work." Brandon sighed.

"I don't need the pictures."

"Why?" Lydecker questioned.

"Because I know which one it was." Brandon answered.

"How?" Lydecker was intrigued._ How the hell does he know?_ Brandon turned back to his father and looked at him.

"It was Kaitlyn dad." His heart stopped. She had been gone nearly seven months with no trace. _She reappears by beating the shit out of Brandon? Do I even know her anymore? _

"Are you-" Brandon cut him off.

"100%, it was her." Lydecker stared at him telling him to continue with his eyes. "She was with Zack." Lydecker closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. _Well at least seven months later, nothing has changed…_ "I saw them on the fire escape… I didn't know it was them so I went to check it out. I pulled out my gun and cocked it and the both of them turned around." Lydecker pulled his head up and looked at his son. "She immediately jumped between him and the gun, and told him to go… It took a few attempts but she got him to leave."

"Where you going to call me at any point?" Lydecker asked. Brandon glared back at him.

"I was getting to that, I grabbed my phone and she kicked the gun out of my hand and I lost my phone in the process. I think she jumped and ended up on the other side of me… and that's all I really remember."

"Did you answer your phone during any of this?" Brandon thought for a second before shaking his head no.

"Not that I can remember." Lydecker sighed. It had to have been Kaitlyn that answered, he was a mere 1,000 feet away from her and she slipped away. "Why?"

"I called you when I couldn't find you… She must have answered and hung up right away." Brandon nodded. "What did she look like?" His father questioned. Brandon flashed back for a second. _Long light straight blonde hair, but it could have been a light brown. Her eyes looked different, maybe green?_ Then he stopped and thought about what she had said.

_"Brandon will you give it up? Let me go, I'm happy."_

Lydecker interrupted his thoughts.

"Well?" Brandon thought for another few seconds.

_"Brandon will you give it up? Let me go, I'm happy."_

"She looked the same." He stated flatly.

"Are you sure?" Lydecker asked.

_"Let me go, I'm happy."_

"Yeah." He stopped and looked into his fathers eyes. "Positive." Lydecker nodded.

"I'll be back in a few." He said as he stood up and left the room. Brandon let out a loud sigh. _Be happy Kaitlyn, please be happy._


	22. San Fran

**San Francisco, California, 2019**

**Four Weeks Later**

"Hey Dee!" Zack said loudly over the blaring music in the crowded San Francisco bar. Kaitlyn stood behind her boyfriend, clutching his hand feeling rather uncomfortable in this social scene. She had always been a quiet girl. The bartender with long wavy hair black hair spun around. Her piercing green eyes was what struck her the most about the girl standing across from her.

"Zack!" Jondy squealed as she pulled herself on top of the bar and jumped into his arms. Zack let go of Kaitlyn's hand in order to catch the over enthusiastic girl. He stumbled slightly when he caught her, but held his little sister close. Jondy kissed his forehead before allowing herself to fall to the ground. "It's been so long, eight months I think? What you don't love me anymore?" Kaitlyn eyed the X5, on closer inspection she noticed numerous tattoos on the girls body. Her tank top and tight jeans didn't leave much to the imagination. Her high heeled boots made her a little shorter than Zack but not by much.

"I've had business." Zack said blankly not impressed with his sisters demeanor. Kaitlyn stepped closer to Zack and could immediately tell why he was annoyed with his sister, she reeked of alcohol. "You drinking again?" He asked. Jondy tossed her head back and laughed.

"I'm a bartender Zack, I spend my night around alcohol, so of course I smell like it. PS one or two shots isn't gonna kill me." Zack nodded, unimpressed. She turned around and leaned over the bar grabbing herself a beer before turning back to her brother. "Who's the skank?" Jondy questioned looking towards Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn watched her fumble with the twist off top for a minute before successfully opening the beer.

"You remember Kaitlyn right?" Zack said. The barstool next to them opened up and Zack sat down pulling Kaitlyn between his legs.

"Lydecker's spawn?" Jondy asked raising her eyebrows. Kaitlyn nodded feeling rather uncomfortable. "What happened there princess? That made you go on the run with a big bad transgenic?" Jondy said sarcastically.

"He spliced my genes and turned me into a big bad transgenic." Kaitlyn grumbled. Jondy smiled.

"Glad to see Deck hasn't changed much." Jondy leaned over the bar and grabbed two more beers handing them off to Zack and Kaitlyn.

* * *

After several beers were finished between the three of them, Zack grabbed his sister and pulled her towards the door. Kaitlyn hardly noticed their absentness as she was caught in a conversation with another girl beside her at the bar. Jondy shoved through the crowd, her brother behind her before they finally made it to the side door and into the alleyway outside. She stood across from her brother, and looked him up and down.

"So why are you here?" Jondy questioned as she fidgeted with the beer in her hand. "Show off the new girlfriend, money, a place to stay…" Zack interrupted her.

"I have some things to attend too, I need to leave her with you." Jondy giggled.

"Now I figured I'd be the last person you'd leave her with, being you've told me I'm a bad example." Zack raised his eyebrows.

"You're the closest X5 right now, the others… are further away and I can't wait on this."

"You're so mysterious Zack." She said softly. "How do you even know you can trust her? Aren't you the one always preaching about being careful?"

"How about the fact that she beat the shit out of her brother after he tried to take custody of us both and left him unconscious in an alleyway?" Zack said.

"Guess you've had a slight influence on her, or is it just all in the genes?" Jondy questioned. Zack grunted in response. Jondy grinned at his reaction, and since she was one to always push him to his limit she continued. "So do you get off on the fact that you get to fuck Lydecker's daughter? Because from the look of you, she seems to be keeping you satisfied." Jondy finished and gulped down some more of her beer. When she finished her brother was glaring at her, not amused. She smiled.

"Dee, could you just do me this favor and not give me so much shit about it?" Zack spat out.

"Why can't she take care of herself? We all did at her age." Zack sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm not asking you to take care of her Jondy. I just need you to keep an eye on her." He lifted his head up and stared at his sister. "Ever since this thing with her brother she's been… just off. I don't want her to be alone, and I can't take her with me."

"You owe me so big Zack." Jondy muttered before taking another swig of her beer.

* * *

Zack made his way back into the bar after making some small talk for a few minutes with his sister. Jondy followed behind him. The music had gotten louder at this point, making his head hurt as he looked around for his girlfriend. The barstool he had left her on was now occupied by someone else. He frowned. _I've been gone 30 minutes, where the hell did she go?_

"Jondy, do you see…" He started, only to realize his sister was no longer behind him, but back behind the bar flirting with a group of middle aged men. _Surprise._ As he gazed around the room he managed to find Kaitlyn with a group of twenty some-things, laughing, and chatting. He hadn't seen her happy in weeks. He made his way over to the group and stood behind Kaitlyn. Zack slid his hands over her hips and pulled her to him. She giggled slightly.

"And this is my amazing, adorable, sexy, fucking boyfriend." She yelled out to her new group of friends. All the girls in the group giggled and took in the man that was Zack, and the men groaned in disappointment. _That's right fellas she's all mine, don't even think about it._ Zack told himself. He moved his mouth to her ear and nibbled on her earlobe to get her attention. He heard her stifle a moan in response. "What?" She whispered.

"We need to talk for a few." Kaitlyn nodded in response. He took her by the hand and led her towards one of the doors. As he stepped out on the street Kaitlyn practically threw herself on him, kissing him everywhere. "Kat, relax." Zack told her as he attempted to pull her off him.

"You relax sexy." She slurred as she kissed his neck. He had not heard her clearly inside the bar, but it was obvious to him now that she was drunk.

"Babe?" Her only response to him was a small moan. "How much have you had to drink?" He asked concerned. She was still young and naive, and with relatively little drinking experience.

"One shot, two shots… six shots…" She giggled as she pressed her head into his chest. "Enough to forget." She said softly. Kaitlyn breathed in his scent and slid her hands under his shirt. "Now Mr. Big Bad transgenic, I vote we get out of here and you can do whatever you want to me." He gulped. _I guess I can leave in a few hours… Won't make much of a difference. _

"For the record, I'm not happy with you right now." Zack grumbled. With that Kaitlyn caught him off guard & shoved him into the wall. She eyed him, and he glared back at her. For a moment he saw the girl he had come to know, though the drunken haze she was in and he saw the vulnerability in her eyes.

"Please." She whispered. "I need someone to love me." Tears were brimming in her eyes, he sighed and grabbed her hand, making his way, yet again back inside. As he arrived at the bar he leaned in looking for Jondy, who was at the other end of the bar.

"Jondy!" He yelled, she slowly began making her way towards him.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I need the keys to your apartment. Now." Jondy smiled. How she loved that even simple requests still came out of his mouth like commands. _He'd still make a great CO._

"Guess she's a really good ride then? Can't wait to get her into bed tonight?" There was no response from Zack who continued to stare at her with an outstretch handed, waiting. Jondy let out a sigh and reached into her pocket. "Here." She said laying the keys in his hand. "Leave the door unlocked so I can get in, and do me a few favors, don't use my bed, and don't break anything." He smiled at his sister, unwilling to let her get the last laugh.

"No promises Dee." With that he stalked away from the bar, Kaitlyn behind him. Jondy crossed her arms across her chest as she watched them exit, and frowned. _I don't trust that girl._


	23. Enter Jondy

**San Francisco, California, 2019**

Zack laid next to Kaitlyn and watched her sleep, she was curled up on her side, with her hair rounded around her cheek. He would be lying if he didn't admit this girl was one of his only weak spots. Everything about her made him feel alive, her looks, her personality, her smile and her acceptance of what he was, a freak. She had allowed her entire life to be flipped upside down for him, and had given him her everything. The girl in front of him was amazing.

This was one of the only times he had seen her at peace during past few weeks. In general when she slept it wasn't long before she would wake up from a nightmare; but when she even slept during the past few weeks, it was almost guaranteed she would wake up haunted by her dreams.

He had made love to her tonight, she had begged him to, he didn't want to seem like he was taking advantage of her. But it seemed to be the only thing that would calm her down enough to sleep. When they had finished she rested her head on his chest, and he had broken the news to her that he had to leave for a few days. She had remained silent and had quietly cried on his chest until she fell asleep. Even now he could see the stains from her tears on her cheeks.

Zack silently crept out of the bed in his sisters guest bedroom and dressed. He had a meeting with a manticore insider. It was an important meeting and there was no way he could stay with Kaitlyn, and he wasn't going to risk bringing her along. He buttoned the top of his shirt and pulled on his jacket. Before leaving the room he walked over to Kaitlyn's side of the bed and brushed her hair from her cheek and kissed her.

"I love you Kat." He whispered before leaving the room.

Before he left he did a once over of the apartment, far be it from him to let his guard down that much. Jondy as he had always known, was not famous for her housekeeping skills. Her bedroom looked like a tornado had hit it. The bed was made, since she hardly ever slept in it, but besides that everything else was thrown all over the place. Her clothes lay in piles on the bed and on the floor, empty cartons of cigarettes were discarded on the floor, and as he stepped further into the room he accidentally kicked something on the floor. He picked it up to discover it was a nearly finished bottle of vodka. Zack groaned and headed towards the kitchen and to dump out what was left in the bottle.

All his brothers and sisters had developed different ways of dealing with their tragic childhoods. Some of them strange, but not harmful to themselves or others, so for the most part he could careless. Zane spent hours and hours working on cars, rebuilding engines, detailing, anything that had to do with a car, Zane could do it. Syl had a stockpile of guns in her house, she never used them but he guessed knowing they were there made her feel safe. Brin had been the athletic one, she still trained like she was in manticore, running for hours, lifting weights. Before Vada had died, she had been close with Skye, they had been each others outlet for their pain, but since Vada's death Skye hadn't been the same, apart of her died when Vada had. Ben, Zack shivered at the thought of his brother, Ben had been cut off, he knew what Ben was up to, and had tried to help him but it was to late. Ben was a lost cause.

Jondy however had taken to drinking, sex and drugs. First it had started with the drinking, and he ignored it, telling himself it was teenage rebellion. After her first heat cycle she would sleep with any guy she came in contact with. Then somewhere between his visits to check on her, she had started smoking pot and quickly moved on to heroin, crack, and her more recent vice had been cocaine.

Zack had found her two years ago at 15 at a crack house in Dallas with her boyfriend at the time. She had OD'ed on something hard and lay half naked in a bed next to the loser. Zack had known that her boyfriend then had turned her on to the harder stuff, and he suspected he pimped her out too. That day he had seen the light go out in his baby sister and she was on verge of being another junkie street whore. He had snapped the neck of her boyfriend, whose name he didn't even know, or care to know, before gathering Jondy in his arms and taking her away from what she had come to know as her home.

Zack had stayed with her for weeks after that. Her withdrawal symptoms had been bad, she had fought him for weeks to just let her have "just a little something, to take the edge off" he wouldn't let her though. He didn't want her to fall back into the hell she had created for herself, she was stronger than that, better then it. Slowly though she got better. He finally had to leave to see how the others had been doing.

He had left her in Tijuana, Mexico, hoping she would be able to get her act together. She had for a little while. Jondy had spent her days lounging on the beach and catching up on much needed sleep. When he stopped in two months later he found her packing her bags claiming she missed the U.S. and big city life. Zack had allowed her to come to San Francisco only if she laid low and didn't go back to her old ways. San Francisco had been good for her at first but over time, he could see she was fading again.

The one recognizable change he noticed was each time he saw her another tattoo would appear on her olive color skin. She had become addicted to pain, it wasn't the self harm she had been inflicting on herself, but it was similar. He knew she had slipped back into some of her old ways, but he could only do so much for her. _You can't save people who don't want to be saved. _For the past few months he had avoided San Francisco and his sister. The distance hadn't made anything better, but not seeing her struggling in front of him made it easier for him. He had warned Kaitlyn to be careful, but hadn't told her the whole story of Jondy. He figured it was just easier that way, he didn't want to talk to much about it and get into details. Zack sighed, and glanced around the rest of the apartment. _She'll be safe here. _He told himself, with one last quick glance, he left.

* * *

Kaitlyn groaned as she opened her eyes and immediately felt her head throbbing. _Ugh, why even bother waking up? _She glanced around the unfamiliar room and recalled her night. _Jondy._ This was Jondy's apartment, and Zack had left her there. Kaitlyn closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She wanted to cry, she needed Zack, and since everything with her brother, she needed him now more than ever. _Toughen up soldier. _Slowly she moved from the bed and picked up her discarded clothes from the floor. She pulled on her tank top and jeans before heading out to the living room.

"Hey." Jondy grumbled upon seeing the girl emerge from the bedroom. She was sitting on the kitchen counter, legs crossed, hunched over a plate a food. Kaitlyn looked at her and smiled. "You want some eggs or something to eat? I have some extra." Jondy offered. She nodded in response. "Do you talk?"

"Yeah… I do, my head is just killing me." Kaitlyn said softly as she helped herself to some of the food on the counter. Jondy set her plate to the side and jumped off the counter. She rifled through a few of the overhead cabinets before pulling out a bottle of aspirin.

"Here" Jondy handed her the bottle. "It normally does the trick, honestly I'd take like five or six since we're revved up." Kaitlyn nodded.

"Thanks, for all this. I know Zack kinda just threw me on you, so I'll try to stay out of your way."

"Eh. Whatever" Jondy grunted as she took her plate of food over to the couch in front of the TV, Kaitlyn followed suit. She sat down in an arm chair across from Jondy who was now hunched over the coffee table shoving food into her mouth. Despite that she was still one of the prettiest women she had ever seen.

Kaitlyn had gotten a look at her last night, but the dingy lighting of the bar didn't do her much justice. Now she was wearing short shorts, a tank top with a zip up hoodie. Again, like last night, not much was left to the imagination. From what Kaitlyn had noticed all of the tattoos were black, she could see a tribal type of tattoo that crept out from under her shorts on her outer thigh. This was in addition to what she had seen last night on her stomach and arms. The black tattoos complimented her olive skin tone. Wrapped around her ankle Kaitlyn could see tattoos of barcodes. Jondy glanced at her and caught her staring at her ankle, without skipping a beat she spoke. "There for my dead brothers and sisters. Mainly the ones who didn't make it out. Only Vada has been killed since the escape. Or at least she's the only one we know has been killed since the escape. " Kaitlyn nodded, and watched as she pointed them out. "This is Jack, Vada…" There were still a few more on her ankle she hadn't pointed out yet, she was stuck one. "Eva." She said softly.

_Eva was holding the gun aiming at something, but from their vantage point they couldn't see what. A moment later there was a loud pop and Eva lay on the floor, bleeding heavily. Kaitlyn now watched as her father stepped forward. The pure expression of anger lay on his face. She pulled into Brandon's hold, afraid. Eva was dead, and the fatal bullet had been from her father's gun._

Kaitlyn shuttered as she remembered that night's events. Jondy looked at her.

"What?" She snipped at the girl. Jondy was mad that she felt any kind of emotion about that night. Her father had killed her sister in front of all of them. Kaitlyn knew nothing of her pain.

"Nothing." Kaitlyn whispered. "I was there that night, I saw him…. I saw my father shoot her." She paused. "I'm sorry, there is so much I would change if I could." Jondy raised her eyebrow at her. They sat in silence for several minutes.

"You didn't pull the trigger." Jondy stated flatly as she returned to her eggs.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't bother me, or that it was okay." Jondy looked back at Kaitlyn and glared. Jondy didn't want to talk about this anymore, this was one of the things that hit a nerve deep inside her. _How do I change the subject?_ She smiled to herself as she thought of the perfect topic.

"How'd you hook up with Zack anyway? I doubt he knocked on your front door, not his way." Kaitlyn smiled at Jondy's sarcasm.

"I found him when Lydecker was closing in on Syl in L.A., and I dumped 10 years of Intel in his lap."

"Very romantic gesture. In the X5 world that's equal to a bottle of wine, chocolates and flowers. Bet you got so love that night."

"It wasn't like that, we didn't start dating til a few months later." Kaitlyn said.

"Dating?" Jondy questioned.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that."

"Nothing, Zack didn't strike me as that type."

"Well he is." Jondy almost choked on her food. _Ugh, I hate the lovey dovey crap. Zack you are such a girl._ "What?" Kaitlyn asked.

"I just find this to be nauseating. I don't do love. I just fuck, life is easier that way." Kaitlyn nodded, not quite sure what to say.

"Oh." Jondy sighed at her response and pulled out a bottle of rum from behind the pillow on her couch.

"You want?" Jondy asked as she opened the bottle held it to her lips and took a long swig from it.

"It's 11am." Kaitlyn stated. Zack hadn't really warned her of Jondy's ways, he had just told her to be careful with anything Jondy related. Jondy laughed and tossed her head back on the couch. She spun her head to look at Kaitlyn

"The way I see it chicky, is that life is one big party, and at any second that door could break down and a bunch of storm troopers could run in here and drag my ass back to manticore." Jondy stood up and walked towards Kaitlyn, stopping in front of her. "So why not enjoy it now, while you still can?" She whispered. Kaitlyn glared up at the wild X5, _don't do it Kaitlyn… _Yet her hand reached for the bottle that Jondy was offering her. She grabbed it from her hand and Jondy smiled.

"Welcome to the party girl." Kaitlyn paused momentarily and took a swig. _Fuck it._


	24. Collateral Damage

**San Francisco, California, 2019**

**Six Days Later**

Kaitlyn had spent the last several days in a constant state of inebriation. It had been fantastic. No worries, the stress of running and family disappeared as her and Jondy partied the nights and days away. After all the best way to avoid a hangover was to keep drinking; and keep drinking they did, it kept a lot of liquor to keep an X5 drunk.

Kaitlyn groaned as she opened her eyes, her body was cold and she realized why. She discovered that she had slept on the tile floor of Jondy's bathroom. _What happened? _Her mind flashed to her hanging over the toilet bowl silently wishing she hadn't had so much to drink. _Oh…yeah. _She crawled over to the vanity and gripped the top of it to pull herself off the ground. Her body ached and her head throbbed. She rested her hands on the edge of the countertop and stared at herself in the mirror. Dark circles hung under her eyes, her hair was greasy and matted together, the makeup left on her face was smudged and there was still some vomit from the previous night caked on her cheek.

"Very attractive, Kaitlyn." She grumbled to under her breath, she just about recognized her voice, it was very hoarse. She turned on the water in the shower and hoped that there would be enough water pressure, and hot water to wash away the grime from the past day. After discarding her clothes on the floor, she stepped into the shower and let the water pour over the sore muscles in her body and rested her hands on the wall in front of her. _What am I doing? This isn't who I am._ Her hands moved through her hair and began lathering the shampoo into her disgusting hair. Ever since she had left Brandon alone in that alleyway she had become more unsure of who or what she was. _I'm an X5._ Echoed through her mind. But memories of her childhood quickly came to mind, school, dance class, homework, and nights out with friends. _But I'm not._ Kaitlyn slowly crouched down and wrapped her arms around her legs and cried. _What am I doing?_

* * *

After composing herself and wrapping herself in a towel, Kaitlyn opened the bathroom door. Jondy stood before with one of her eyebrows raised.

"'bout damn time." She said with a smile as she pushed past her into the bathroom. Kaitlyn walked to stand in the doorway and turned to watch as Jondy applied her makeup in the mirror. Kaitlyn had always observed women around her to pick up the feminine touches. She hadn't had her mother around to teach her about make up, nails and hair and her father definitely hadn't taught her. Kaitlyn curiously watched as she applied her foundation _Not like she needs any makeup, she's practically flawless. _Jondy covered her face and the dark circles under her eyes before dropping the brush she had just been using to the counter. The noise of it hitting the rock countertop made Kaitlyn's head throb more. _She drank just as much as me, how is it that noise wouldn't bother her?_

"Where are you going?" Kaitlyn asked, she readjusted herself to make sure the towel was secure around her. Jondy grabbed a tube of mascara from the countertop and applied it to her waiting eyelashes.

"Work." Jondy told her. "Girls' gotta make a living." Kaitlyn rubbed her forehead. _Work? But its only the morning, she can't be going in already. _It dawned on her however that it was probably a lot later than she thought it was.

"What time is it?" Jondy turned and looked at her.

"Seriously? You did a number on yourself last night. It's almost 7:30 at night."

"Oh." Kaitlyn responded. _I slept all fucking day?_ "What time did we come in last night?" Jondy laughed.

"Last night? Try around 9 this morning, and you opted to ditch the bed for the floor in here, which I can't say I haven't done myself a few times. The floor in here is nice and cold, especially when your in heat." Kaitlyn nodded and leaned against the doorframe. Jondy spun around and glanced at her. "Coming?" Kaitlyn cleared her throat and responded.

"Yeah, just give me a few." Jondy told her as she went back to her makeup.

"Raid my closet if you need too."

* * *

Several hours later Kaitlyn found herself behind the bar helping Jondy serve up drinks. After raiding Jondy's closet she had opted for her own pair of black jeans, and one of Jondy's black corset tank top type get ups. Her chest practically hung out of it. _Whatever. _She had told herself after hesitating to wear it out. _If you got it, you might as well flaunt it. _Her light brown hair hung straight and her heavily made up face made her look a lot older than she was.

For a girl who hadn't spent much time around alcohol for most of her life, Kaitlyn was sure making up for it now. So far tonight her low cut top had bought her a bunch of tips, and quite a bit of male attention. She smiled to herself. _Well I've certainly had worse things happen besides a bunch of men stare at me like I was a piece of meat. _She knew she would grow tired of it eventually but she opted to enjoy the moment, at least till Zack showed, and killed any man that so much as breathed in her direction. Jondy grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face her.

"Will you be okay for a minute? I've got to run to the bathroom." Kaitlyn smiled and nodded. There were still two other bartenders behind the bar with her, it'd be fine.

"Cool." Jondy offered before slipping through the back door to the staff bathroom. Kaitlyn spun back around to find a set of eyes on her.

"Can I help you?" She asked the guy who eyed her up and down. _Damn he's cute._ He was built with piercing blue eyes that reminded her of Zack's. His hair was black and spiked up and his t-shirt clung to his chest showing off his impressive physique. He smiled at her.

"Would it be possible if I could buy you a drink?" Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and leaned into him.

"Might be possible, but doesn't mean I'm thirsty." His grin only spread wider.

"Ah, so your not an easy one to catch." Kaitlyn shrugged as she grabbed a glass from under the bar.

"What can I get you?"

"Just a beer. I mean I'd like it if you came along with that; but you're killing me here." She smiled as she let the beer run out of the tap into the glass. "So what's a pretty girl like you doing in a dump like this?" He asked. She topped off the glass and handed it to him.

"Eh, even pretty girls need money." As he stopped talking and took a sip Kaitlyn took a minute to think. _Jondy went to the bathroom like 10 minutes ago, what the hell? _Most nights when guys would come onto her like this Jondy would interrupt and let her slip away. As his mouth opened again Kaitlyn interrupted.

"Excuse me." She said and began to walk away. Kaitlyn walked to the end of the bar and slipped into the staff room in the back. All was quiet, well in a sense it was, except for the thundering music coming from the other side of the wall.

"Jondy?" She called out as she made her way to the small bathroom in the back. Kaitlyn paused momentarily at the door before opening it. Inside Jondy stood bent over the small counter by the sink sniffing at a white substance. Kaitlyn was still naïve in many ways, but she knew what she had just witnessed. When Jondy finished she glared up at Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn kept eye contact with her in an attempt to not seemed scared by this wild X5's ways. "Jondy, what are you doing?" Jondy stood up straight and looked at herself in the mirror making sure the residue from the cocaine she had just snorted was not left on her face.

"Come on, Kaitlyn, don't tell me I need to explain this to you." Jondy said sarcastically, Kaitlyn stuttered.

"No, I just… I meant why, is it really that…" She didn't get to finish, Jondy interrupted.

"Yeah it really is that bad." Jonsy grumbled. Kaitlyn watched as she pulled another bag out of her pants pocket, and she held it up to her. "Wanna try?" She said with a grin. Kaitlyn stood still in her tracks. _Do I? _She questioned. Jondy could sense her hesitation. She smiled. "Come on, once isn't going to kill you." Before Kaitlyn even knew what she was doing, her head was nearly on the counter staring down a line of coke. _Whatever._

* * *

Before Kaitlyn knew it she was back behind the bar with Jondy. The two girls laughed and danced together as they poured drinks to their waiting customers. As time went on Jondy handed her shot after shot of everything from tequila to rum, but Kaitlyn could hardly even taste the alcohol as she downed it. Jondy grinned at her after her sixth shot.

"That's what I'm talking about girl!" Kaitlyn smiled back at her before Jondy turned and headed towards the other end of the bar. In that moment, nothing could have brought her down. She felt as if she could do anything, that all of her problems were gone. _Guess I know why she is so into this now…_

Kaitlyn fumbled around under the bar momentarily looking for a glass to pour herself some water. She took a minute to herself as most of the patrons at the bar seemed to be satisfied with the drinks they had. As she leaned back on the wall opposite the bar, the same set of blue eyes from earlier rested on her again. She giggled to herself and grinned at him.

"What's your name?" She yelled out to him.

"David, how about yours?" He called back. She walked over to him and leaned over the bar, exposing her chest to him.

"Nice to meet you David, I'm Kat." They both smiled.

* * *

Several hours later Zack arrived at the bar looking for his sister and his girlfriend. He had checked Jondy's apartment first, which to no surprise was empty, as it almost always was. Since he had left her in San Fran a few years ago he could almost always find her at work. _As if you can even call what she does "work". She gets paid to party._ As he made his way through the busy downtown bar he kept his eyes open for Kaitlyn and Jondy. He hated crowded places like this. It was easy to blend in, but it was too loud, and it made him less aware of his surroundings.

He made his way up to the counter and spied his sister laying out a series of shot glasses before grabbing a bottle of tequila and filling them all. His eyes wandered further down the bar looking for Kaitlyn. He bit his lip when he saw her and rage boiled through him. She was sitting in some guy's lap, his arm around her waist and she was leaning back on her arms that were placed on the counter. _She is way too comfortable. _Zack watched as the man's hand moved up and down her side and his other hand was now on her leg. He could feel his animal side kicking in as he watched what was happening.

"Mine." He growled under his breath. Jondy looked up from what she was doing and saw her brother glaring down the bar at Kaitlyn. She smiled to herself. _Well at least he can see now that she can't be trusted. _But Jondy knew that what he was witnessing was because of the fact Kaitlyn was as drunk as could be, and as high as a kite, and she was that way because of her. _Whatever, best he learns it now before one of us gets killed because of this girl. _She could see the anger in her brother's face continue to rise. She sighed to herself. _Well better end this before Zack kills someone. _Kaitlyn wasn't to far down the counter from her and Jondy banged on the counter to get her attention. Her head turned and looked at Jondy as if to say "what?". Jondy raised her eyebrows and tilted her head towards where Zack was standing. Kaitlyn immediately jumped off the guy's lap and ran down the length of the bar and into Zack. Jondy rolled her eyes. _So much for subtle. _She turned back to what she was doing, she didn't want to be involved in the mess she had created.

Zack grabbed her only so they wouldn't attract so much attention. Otherwise he would have let her hit the ground. A smile hung on her face as she kissed him.

"I missed you so much baby." She grumbled between her kisses. Zack stood still and didn't respond he eased her to the floor and she continued to grab at him and kiss him. "So much." Kaitlyn muttered into his ear. She was incredibly hyper which was annoying the shit out of him, he wasn't into girls like that. She continued to try to jump on him and was giggling, he was getting really pissed off. _I catch her in the act with some guy and she's laughing?_ He pushed her back from him and couldn't help but notice her appearance. She looked like she was a twenty-something whore with the outfit she was wearing and she was also rather disheveled, which was unusual for her. "Zack" She groaned as she tried to pull herself back onto him. He once again pushed her away.

"Kaitlyn what the fuck?" Was all he could say. _What else is there to say at this point? _He had walked in on her all over some guy and now she was acting well, really weird.

"Zack." She grumbled once more before she leaned into him again. He grabbed her chin in his hand and pulled her to look at him. Her eyes seemed glazed over as he stared at her. He had seen that look before, and it had been in Jondy's eyes. _Fuck. _Jondy had gotten her high. He looked up to quickly catch Jondy watching with a smirk on her face before she turned back to one of her customers. _Bitch. _If he hadn't had Kaitlyn leaning into him he would have handed his sister her ass, but he had other things to be concerned with. Kaitlyn's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "So tired Zack." He pulled her out one of the side doors to the alleyway next to the building. Once they were outside Zack attempted to talk to her.

"What did you take Kaitlyn?" He asked sternly. She glanced up at him and blinked several times in an attempt to focus her vision. Silence remained in the alley. "Kaitlyn!" He said as he grabbed her chin. "Look at me and tell me."

"Ask Jondy, I don't know." She whispered. "it's been so much fun, until now." He could see she was struggling to stay awake and her eyelids were slowly closing. "Zack, I really don't feel well." Kaitlyn moaned as she stumbled into his arms. Her body began to shake violently and a seizure began. Zack could feel her gagging as he held her and he turned her head to the side, moments later she vomited on the ground and began coughing.

"Shhh." He whispered as he stroked her hair. He had a few pills of tryptophan in his pocket which he fed into her mouth one at a time. "I need you to swallow Kat." He said softly. She groaned in response and he felt her swallow. He carried her to another spot in the alley away from where she had just thrown up and sat down with her in his arms as she seized. _I'm gonna kill Jondy._

* * *

Nearly 20 minutes had passed since Zack had walked out of the bar with Kaitlyn. Jondy glanced over towards the door occasionally to see if her brother would re-enter. _Probably not, he's got his princess back now, why even bother to say goodbye. _She rolled her eyes and hopped over the bar before heading out the side door her brother had walked out earlier.

In the poorly lit alleyway she saw her brother sitting with his back on the cold brick building, Kaitlyn in his arms. The girl in his arms shook every few seconds. _Guess manticore still botched the job on her 10 years later… at least she ended up flawed too. _Zack looked up at his sister and angrily stared at her. He pulled the unconscious girl off his lap and left her on the ground. Jondy braced her hands on her hips and glared at her brother.

"I asked you to watch her, and this is how she ends up?" He growled. Jondy shrugged.

"You told me to keep an eye on her, and I did, you didn't give me a list of shit she could and couldn't do." Before Jondy could even think she was slammed against the wall with her brothers arm across her neck.

"What did she take?" He asked, the anger in his voice only rising. Jondy glared at him. He kept his arm on her neck as she struggled against him. His free hand checked her pockets. It didn't take him long to find a small bag of white powder. He held it up to her. "So is this coke? Or have you moved onto something harder now?" She said nothing and he leaned harder on her neck.

"Yeah its coke." She grumbled. Zack let go of her and kept the bag in his hand. "You better give it back Zack, that cost me a lot of fucking money." She growled prepared to fight him. He unzipped the bag and poured the contents into one of the murky puddles on the pavement. Zack raised his eyebrows at her as she shook in anger. "You know what Zack- don't ever come around here again." She paused and pointed at Kaitlyn who was still laying unconscious nearby, "and when this dumb bitch eventually gets tired of you and runs back to daddy, don't be surprised when you end up back in hell." She growled through her teeth.

"Dee, you need help." He said simply, they had had this discussion before, and he already knew how it would end.

"Fuck you Zack." She said, glancing at her brother one last time and heading back into the bar. _You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved._


	25. Return to Normalcy

**Gilette, Wyoming, 2019**

**Two Weeks Later**

Brandon Lydecker sat in one of the medical wings at manticore waiting for yet another physical therapy session, which thanks to his sister he now endured on a consistent basis. _Fucking Kaitlyn. _He loved his sister, but lately he only wanted to slap some sense into her. _What is she thinking? _He had covered for her and allowed his father to think she looked the same, even though he knew full well she didn't. Just because he had let her off once didn't mean he would let it happen ever again, or even that he didn't want her caught. Brandon wanted her happy, but she was his sister and he wanted her home. He couldn't help but be selfish.

Many of the leads his father had gotten on Kaitlyn over the past few months had not been promising. The girl was learning from the master escape artist X5, and there was more of a chance him and his father would both get hit by lightning at the same time, rather than have her reappear anytime soon. So he figured with his little white lie his sister would get another year tops out of her little adventure, then be placed under house arrest until she was 30. _Seems fair. _

Anytime he thought about Zack, which was pretty much anytime he thought about Kaitlyn, he couldn't help but get angry. He found himself dreaming about the different ways he could torture the X5 for even looking at his sister, let alone touching. Brandon growled under his breath. The image of his sister and Zack kissing in the alley was permanently burned into his brain, it was if it was there to remind him of what the two of them were doing together and that he couldn't stop looking for her. _He is so fucking dead if I'm the one who finds him. _Brandon had kept most of the details of that night to himself, attempting to not burden his father with anything else, an image like that might cause Lydecker a heart attack.

He hoped with every fiber of his being that Kaitlyn remained her level headed self. She had always been the smart one out of the two of them, and was normally pretty capable of staying out of trouble. His only worry was that her resentment towards Lydecker would mess with her judgment. Brandon knew she was angry at their father for everything he had done. _Hell, I'm fucking angry with him. _He thought back to when his father had told him that Kaitlyn's DNA had been toyed with, he had wanted to strangle him. After hearing the story of Renfro threatening him though, he knew it was necessary, Kaitlyn had made her bed unfortunately and she had to lie in it.

"Brandon?" He looked up to see one of the many attractive nurses that were employed at manticore.

"Yes?" He asked with a grin.

"You can come on in now." She stood next to him to make sure he stood up okay and he flashed his grin at her again. _God I am so awesome._

* * *

**Las Cruces, New Mexico, 2019**

Silence filled the SUV that they had stolen a few days ago somewhere in Nevada. Kaitlyn had done her best to keep quiet and stay out of Zack's way since San Francisco. He wasn't one to disguise his anger and she didn't want to provoke him any further. They had done a lot of driving the past two weeks which had made it easy for Kaitlyn to close her eyes and pretend to be asleep. It wasn't as if she was fooling him, he knew she was awake, but let it be.

They had ended up somewhere in New Mexico, Kaitlyn had liked it so far because it was warm. As they drove she noticed the sun was beginning to set. _Another awkward day coming to a close. _

"Guess we should stop for a bit." Zack stated, she said nothing in response and continued to gaze out the window. They drove for another twenty minutes or so until they came across another crappy hotel and pulled into the lot. He grabbed his wallet containing a large wad of cash, and multiple fake ids and headed into the office to get them a room. As the car door slammed Kaitlyn cringed a little but sat and waited for Zack to return with the key. _God this is like walking on needles, but more fucking painful. _She sighed and rested her head on the cold glass window of the car.

A few minutes later she heard a knock on the window and turned to see Zack smile at her and nodded towards the block of hotel rooms. _He still knows how to smile? I haven't seen that in weeks. _Kaitlyn grabbed her backpack and hopped out of the car and followed behind him.

The room was the same as every other hotel room they had spent time in for the past 10 months. One queen sized bed, a small bathroom, some gross pre-pulse flower décor, and a few other pieces of mismatched furniture. She tossed her bag onto the dresser in front of the bed and sat down in one of the chairs near the dirty window and pulled her knees up to her chest. She glanced towards Zack and noticed he hadn't moved from his spot since they had come in.

"We need to talk." He spoke, ending almost a 12 hour gap of silence on her part. She couldn't help but grin a tiny bit, he was always so authoritative, even when he didn't need to be. Kaitlyn sighed and rested her chin on her knees as Zack walked over and sat in the chair across from her. She was almost exhausted from the thought of this conversation. "What the hell where you thinking?" He wasn't angry, he had waited to long to talk to her so that he wouldn't be. She shook her head.

"I wasn't…obviously." She said softly. "Things were just sucking with what I did to Brandon and all that…. and there was Jondy with a liquid cure." Zack sighed at her response. _Fucking Jondy._

"Drinking and all that shit doesn't cure anything babe, it causes more problems… You saw how she is." Kaitlyn looked up at him and made eye contact. She knew he was right. "This whole drinking problem thing runs in your family, you're prone to it, and trust me, you don't want to end up like my sister." _I don't ever want to end up like that. _At the mention of her father she turned away from Zack.

"Yeah…" She said softly. He pulled his chair closer to her and softly rested his hand on her chin and moved her gaze back to him.

"What happened while you were there?" He questioned putting his hand on top of her knees.

"Nothing bad, I was just going to the bar with her every night. I made some extra cash bartending, it was fun." She sighed. "Then I walked in on her snorting coke the last night and she offered it to me… I was a little drunk already so I figured why not? About 20 minutes later I was all over the place and that guy had been talking to me earlier, and he started again when I came out… So I figured why not?"

"I saw you, I saw his hands all over you..." She looked Zack sternly in the eye.

"I would never do anything to you Zack, even when I was out of it, I knew I had you." She whispered. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "I don't ever want to lose you."

"I don't want to see you like that again." He said sternly, she nodded in response. "Well anyway, now that that's over with we can get back to whatever normal is for us." Kaitlyn giggled and watched him stand up and head towards his bag, he continued to talk. "For what it's worth, while you where in San Fran, I went to see a guy who works for manticore. He had some intel for me, and I asked him to grab me something else if he could." She watched curiously as he dug through his bag and pulled out a manila folder. Zack walked back over to her and held it out to her. She slowly took it and held it, wondering what exactly it contained. "Open it." He said softly.

She opened the folder slowly and saw her brothers face staring back at her. She recognized the picture. _His manticore ID photo. _She smiled as she looked at it. _Oh B, I miss you so much. _Kaitlyn flipped the page and found Brandon's medical history up until a few weeks ago. The following page showed his face after the fight she had had with him. There was a bruise and a few cuts and scrapes around his right eye, but the rest of his face seemed fine. Kaitlyn looked up at Zack questioningly.

"Why?" She asked.

"I know you want to be there with him and that you were worried about him." Zack walked behind her and flipped back to the previous page that contained his medical history. He pointed a few things out on the page to her. "But he's okay, you didn't do that big a number on him." He stopped and kissed the top of her head. "You're not that big of a badass chick yet." She chuckled and watched Zack walk into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. She returned to the page with his ID picture and ran her fingers across it. She sighed and closed the folder before holding it to her chest. _Zack, you never fail to amaze me._


	26. Mexico

**Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, 2019**

**Three Months Later**

The past few weeks was something that had been pulled directly from Kaitlyn's dreams, only it was even better than her dreams. She had spent a month and a half on her own while Zack was traveling to check on his siblings. When he had come back for her he surprised her with a trip to Mexico. However, Zack had a different definition of trip than the one Kaitlyn had. For the past month they had driven through Mexico, spending their days and nights on the beach, four wheeling, hiking, and camping. This was the first bit of relaxation either one of them had had in months.

Puerto Vallarta was the grand finale to the trip, after this they would head back to the US. It had been about a year since Kaitlyn had reappeared in Zack's life and he opted to acknowledge it. He wasn't sure of the exact dates of when she had first shown up at his apartment, when they had first kissed and when she first went on the run with him but he had a general idea. He figured anyway that Kaitlyn would point it out to him when he missed it, like pretty much all women did. But he loved the girl and he was trying to cover his bases. _Hey, at least I remembered the general timeframe, I'm better than most._

Mexico hadn't been affected as badly as the US had been by the pulse, it had already been in bad shape when the pulse hit. In 2009 thousands of people were already dead from the drug war that started in 2006, and sadly as time went on the drug cartels regained their control of the country. The government went back to ignoring the problem and corruption became rampant yet again. The one upside was that violence decreased dramatically in the country. The days of shootouts in the streets and mass graves were over.

Ironically the US federal government which had spent years trying to weed out corruption, fell into a similar pattern that Mexico had. The corruption in the federal government trickled down to state, city and town levels. The street gangs, mob and common criminals ruled the streets, and paid the cops to look away. The once great nation had turned into its southern neighbor, whom for so many years had been looked down on.

The drug cartels ran the streets and Kaitlyn watched carefully every time Zack encountered any of them. With the right amount of cash and humble attitude he could get them anywhere, and have everyone leave them alone. _He must have robbed a bank before we came down here. _There had been several nights where she had noticed they were being followed by some of the drug dealers. But she learned from Zack that with the amount of money he had given them, they were just making sure no one messed with them. Upon leaving the towns Zack would hand them another wad of cash and thank them.

* * *

They had spent the day lounging on the beach, when they had arrived it had been to early to check into their hotel. When it came time to check in, neither one of them had wanted to move. As the sun began to set, Zack nudged the girl asleep on his chest. She only groaned in response.

"I think we need to check in babe." He told her.

"Nooo too comfy Zack." He laughed at her and rolled off the few towels they had laid down in the sand to stand up. Kaitlyn still remained in the same position she had been in.

"Come on, I'm hungry." Kaitlyn slightly opened her eyes at his statement.

"Me too." She grumbled and pulled herself up. He laughed again, this time at her sleepy state and helped her stand up. He grabbed the towels off the ground and headed up towards the hotel. After he had walked a few feet Kaitlyn jumped on his back and giggled. "Love you boyyyy." She said into his ear and then kissed his cheek. He adjusted her on his back and carried her up to the hotel.

* * *

A half hour later they were situated in their hotel suite. They were on the fifth floor, with a balcony overlooking the beach. There was a nice sitting area, and a large king sized bed which was probably one of the most comfortable beds Kaitlyn had ever laid on. There was also a large Jacuzzi bathtub, which she intended to get some good use out of. She stood on the balcony and watched as the sun continued to disappear. Zack came up behind her and wrapped his jacket around her as it was getting a little cold.

"I ordered us room service." He told her, she spun around.

"That is way too much money Zack."

"Eh, your worth it." He rubbed his hands up and down her arms trying to warm her up. She laughed.

"Why are you so amazing?" She asked. He sat down in one of the chairs on the balcony and pulled her into his lap.

"I'm really not." He told her. "There are so many things I could have done differently." She smiled at him and stroked the side of his face.

"Shit happens Zack, you aren't superman." He turned and looked at her. "Well, you are to me." She stopped and giggled. "But you can't do it all, babe." Zack pulled her closer to him and she snuggled her head into his chest. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me Zack." He ran his fingers through her long hair.

"I know Kat, I feel the same." He whispered. They sat in silence holding each other till their food came.

* * *

When they finished eating Zack jumped into the bed and turned on the TV. Kaitlyn gathered the little strength she had left and went into the bathroom to shower. Zack laid in bed wishing that his life could be like this forever. There was no pressure, no anxiety, just him and his girl, living happily ever after. _Like that could ever happen. My life is far from a fairytale. _He knew the story Tinga told her three year old son at night was the G rated fairytale version of their lives at manticore, but 'happily ever after' wasn't an option for them. A few moments later Kaitlyn walked out of the bathroom clad in only a towel and he raised his eyebrows and smiled at her.

"Whatever perv." She told him with a smile. When she neared the bed he reached out and grabbed her pulling her in with him. She laughed and pretended to fight him off but gave in and let him lay on top of her.

"You know why I did this?" He asked.

"Most men would have done it for sex, but I think I keep you satisfied in that area…" She said with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's around our one year anniversary of meeting again, you escaping, us kissing… various events bunched into one Mexican road trip."

"Well the anniversary of going on the run together is two weeks ago this Thursday…" Zack rolled his eyes at her. _Fucking women, they can tell you the fucking date of any event. _

"Somehow I knew you'd know the dates." They both laughed and smiled at one another. They caught each others glare and looked into one another's eyes. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, she kissed him back. The kiss began to deepen and Kaitlyn groaned from underneath him. She placed her hands on Zack's shoulders and pushed him off her and he rolled onto his back, grabbing her and pulling her on top of him.

She straddled him, and Zack pulled her towel off her, leaving her exposed. Out of habit Kaitlyn tried to cover herself, but Zack caught her arms before she could.

"You don't have to hide anything from me, you're perfect." He said softly. She smiled down at Zack before she went back to kissing him.

* * *

**Gilette, Wyoming**

Tonight the finest of the X5s were out in the wooded area around the compound, training. For some of the X5s their fate at manticore hung in the balance with the result of how this training mission turned out. X5 734 was among the X5s in the woods along with 494. Lydecker sat at his desk after spending a majority of his night in the yard. _To fucking cold out there. _He was a commanding officer, he didn't have to spend all night in freezing weather unless he wanted to. Most of the time though, he did want to. _Those are my kids out there… Their performance reflects back on me. _A large majority of the time, his kids did not disappoint.

This was the first time 734 had been allowed out of the building to train. Lydecker had been surprised by Brin's progress, he thought she was going to take forever to break. But she had come back to manticore, sick and weak. A few months in psy-ops had done the trick, and she was back to being a soldier. 494, well he was another story. He had spent months upon months of his life in psy-ops. After his twin, 493, had escaped in '09, him and few other selected twins had spent time there, to make sure they weren't flight risks as well.

Once Lydecker had found out that 493, aka Ben, had turned into a serial killer, he ordered 494 into psy-ops to make sure it wasn't genetic. Lydecker couldn't help but shutter at the thought of Ben. The first bodies that had been discovered were in New York. Upon hearing there were two bodies with barcodes on the back of their necks he swooped in. Only to find the barcodes were the same, and that neither one of them was Ben. He had sat puzzled for nearly eight months, and once three more bodies appeared in Miami, he knew it was Ben. Somewhere along the line something had gone horribly wrong with him. He already knew once Ben was caught, he would spend the rest of his life locked in a cell in the basement.

494's most recent trip to psy-ops however was after his failure to execute Robert Berrisford. From what Lydecker could piece together, 494 had fallen in love with Rachel Berrisford, Robert's daughter and had attempted to save them both. At that point the had practically dragged back to manticore and fought his way through psy-ops. After months though he was finally deemed able to begin training again. _Damn kid is still a mess though. _

Lydecker glared at the stack of reports that sat on the corner of his desk. It contained the weekly updates on the X5s at the Wyoming facility. Most nights he would haven't minded reading the stack of papers, tonight though he wasn't in the mood. He rummaged through the stack until he found the folder labeled "Rouge X5s". _My original kids. _Each page contained several designations and nicknames of each of the X5s. Underneath their designation and name was any new obtained information from the intelligence unit during the past week.

452- Seattle, still obtaining more solid information regarding whereabouts. _Nothing new there. _701- Possibly located in the Midwest, dropped of radar after attempt to capture in LA. 493- Nothing solid. Last known location, Chicago, appears to have been cut off from the rest of the escapees, drifting. _Rightfully so. _210- Northern California. 656- Family still in Portland, surveillance continues, no sign of the X5. 599- No longer keeping to usual haunts, possibly sighted on the East Coast. 398- No solid information besides assumed to be with 599. _Of course she's with him, maybe their having pizza together in New York! _578- Still absolutely no information available. Has gone to ground. 205- Los Angles, rumored to work in an auto body shop, obtaining solid leads. _Hmmm…_

Lydecker stopped at 205, aka Zane's status update. The fact that the intelligence unit had pinned a specific city, and profession was a very hopeful sign. Lydecker picked up his phone and dialed to the intelligence unit which never closed. They had round the clock teams in that division, not just to track rogue X5s, but other individuals as well. When the phone was answered Lydecker spoke.

"This is Colonel Lydecker, in regards to the status report I received this week, I'd like to know more of the details regarding X5-205."


	27. Time's Up

**Southern California, 2019**

"Where to now boy?" Kaitlyn asked from the passengers seat after the couple had crossed back into the US from Mexico.

"L.A. for a little." He responded. The windows were down in the car as they drove through Southern California. Kaitlyn was reclined in her seat next to him, with her feet up on the dashboard. He glanced over at her and she smiled in his direction. Their little excursion to Mexico had done her good. She had an all over tan, and her light brown hair was nearly blonde from all the time they had spent in the sun. He liked her as both a blonde and brunette, she switched back and forth frequently. She was wearing a black tank top, a short white skirt, and flip flops. Oversized sunglasses hung on her face, and a wicker cowboy hat they had somehow ended up with as a after a night of drinking. It may have been a stupid hat that had made them laugh over the past few weeks as both of them randomly wore it, but right now she was rocking it. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a skirt."

"Yeah well, it probably won't ever happen again, so you might want to get a picture." She stated, he laughed at her. "Anyway why L.A.? Is it so I can continue to work on my lovely tan?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You can do whatever you want." He paused. "Actually it would make me very happy to see you laying out in a bikini over the next few days." She pulled her hat off and playfully swatted at him with it.

"No really, tell me."

"I haven't seen Zane in awhile, and I need to."

"Oh." Kaitlyn responded. "Any reason?" She questioned.

"No… But he does need to move soon, he's been in L.A. nearly two years now. He was lucky Lydecker didn't catch onto him when he was there for Syl about a year and a half ago." She smiled.

"Lydecker being onto Syl was my first tip for you." He grinned at her.

"It's been a long time." His hand rested on the console between the two seats. She slid her hand over his and interlocked their fingers.

"We've got a long time left to go."

* * *

They arrived in L.A. the next day late in the evening. Zack and Kaitlyn had taken their time driving up the California cost, stopping to eat, sleep and sightsee on their way up. Both had spent a fair amount of time in Southern California before, but had never taken the time to really enjoy what was around them.

The neighborhood they were in was slightly rundown as everything was since the pulse, but not as bad as some of the places they had been. Zack parked on one of the side streets and shut the car off.

"Is this it?" Kaitlyn asked looking at what seemed to be a condemned house.

"No, he's about 5 blocks over."

"Why park here then? I'm lazy." She whined.

"So that if something happens I have a car waiting for me that isn't right out front. Also the car is stolen, if I park it outside Zane's and the police run the plates, there gonna knock on his door first." Kaitlyn's mouth formed an "O" shape and nodded. _What doesn't he think of? _She reached over and grabbed her bag from the back seat and climbed out the passengers side door.

They walked for the five blocks mostly in silence with Kaitlyn clutching Zack's hand. He seemed a little more tense than usual, but then again him being tense wasn't that out of the ordinary. _His moods always jump unpredictably. _Upon reaching the fifth block Zack pulled her towards the backyards of the homes. They hopped one fence before Zack knocked on the back door of the second house in. A few minutes later a man answered the door.

Kaitlyn stood behind Zack and looked at the man. He was light skinned, with stunning green eyes. His hair was cut short it was a light brown and curly, it looked as if he hadn't brushed it in awhile. He was about Zack's height, and like the other X5s she had come across, he was very muscular.

"Hey man." Zane said to Zack, they hugged, slapping each other on the back.

"You remember Kaitlyn right?" Zack asked Zane. Zane looked at Kaitlyn and recognition hit him.

"Hey." Zane said to her.

"Hi." She said rather timidly. Zane let them into the house and walked to the front room where there was a sitting room of mismatched furniture. Kaitlyn realized she was essentially in the middle of a bachelor pad.

"What have you been up too? It's been awhile." Zane asked his brother.

"Same shit, as always. How about you?"

"Working. That's pretty much all I ever do." The room became silent and Kaitlyn knew it was because Zane was reluctant to speak in front of her.

"Uh do you have somewhere I can put my stuff? Maybe lay down for a little?"

"Upstairs, first door on your right." Zane told her.

Kaitlyn jogged up the stairs and left the two men alone in the living room. Zane waited till he heard the door slam before he started talking.

"Still?" He asked Zack. Jondy had relayed her encounter with Kaitlyn to him a few months earlier. All of the X5s knew something had been going on with there big brother, but were reluctant to get involved. The last thing any of them needed was more trouble. Zack glared at Zane and remained silent. "That girl is a world of trouble and you know it." Zane told him as he sat on the couch. His German Sheppard, Casey climbed up on the couch next to him.

"I really don't need a lecture, but thank you." Zack responded falling onto the other couch adjacent to where Zane was. "PS, did you hear about this from Dee?"

"Doesn't matter Zack." Zane answered and Zack knew by his response that Jondy had in fact talked.

"Forgetting about me for a second, Jondy's gotten herself in deep again." Zane looked over at Zack, since the escape Zack had leaned on Zane as his second in command out in the world. Skye had be his SIC inside Manticore, but once they got out it was a whole different game. It also helped that Zane was the first one of the X5s he found when he began his search for his brothers and sisters after the escape in 2009. They had spent a lot of time together over the years.

"Yeah, well what else is new." Zane grumbled. As much as he hated to admit Jondy seemed to be a lost cause, and they both knew it. Trouble followed that girl around like a moth to a flame. When Jondy had called him a few months back, Zane could hear it in her voice again, she gone. Silence engulfed the room, both unsure what to do. "We'll pull her out of San Fran if it gets to how it did in Dallas, and figure out what the hell to do with her." Neither one of them ever spoke of it, but they had both wished on occasion Lydecker would swoop in and drag her back to Manticore. At least then she wouldn't be constantly hurting herself. However it would be a double ended sword, Manticore would hurt her and no doubt only drive her even more out of her mind. Her demons had been caused by her childhood. "Back to you." Zack groaned loudly.

"Seriously Zane shut the fuck up. It's been over a year and I'm still free, none of you have been caught and she really shows no fucking sign of wanting to go back." Zane pet Casey roughly as he sat listening to his brother.

"That's not the point. What happens when you break up with her or vise versa and she runs back crying to her daddy? He'll get info out of her. Something tells me if he offered her a new purse and some spending money, she'd give it up." Zack coldly stared at his brother and stood up. He walked towards the window and looked out. "You know I'm right." Zane insisted.

"I doubt that will happen." Zack said roughly.

"Oh yeah? What makes you so damn sure about that?" Zane replied.

"I seriously doubt we will ever break up." He said softly. Zane made a gagging noise from the couch.

"God when did you turn into such a pussy?" Zack raised an eyebrow and turned back to his brother.

"I wouldn't be with her if I didn't think it was a forever type thing. Obviously there is way to much at stake here." Zane's expression was one of confusion and disgust.

"You've turned into one of the girls, fucking Syl isn't as bad as you." Zack rolled his eyes.

"Whatever Zane." The room became silent. "Zane?" He asked, his brother grunted in response. "You tell fucking anybody what I just told you and I'll kill you." Zane snickered.

"Don't worry about it, even if I told any of the others they wouldn't believe it." Zack glared at Zane and tossed one of the pillows on the couch at him hard. "Whatever man." The room quieted for a few minutes.

"You need to move within the next week or two." Zack told Zane. Zane lifted an eyebrow.

"Really? I thought I was doing okay."

"You were, but you've been here to long." Zane sighed.

"I really liked this place too." Zack shrugged.

"Sorry man."

"I know… Maybe I'll try Florida next. I realized I like the warm weather." Zack nodded and the room fell silent again. He didn't really care where any of the X5s were, as long as they kept a low profile. "Have you heard from Skye?" Zane asked. Zack shook his head no. He knew where Skye was, but she had told him to keep his mouth shut and not tell Zane where she was. He decided that would be for the best, Skye even scared him sometimes with how tough she was. There was a reason Lydecker had picked her to be his SIC at Manticore.

Zack wasn't sure if they had been in a relationship or what, but he knew Skye wasn't good with anything emotional. He assumed that once things had gone sour between the two of them she split, unwilling to hang around for the aftermath. That had been over a year ago. As far as Zack was concerned she had been the smartest of all the X5s, last she'd checked in with him months ago, she was in London.

"I told you I thought she was in Europe." Zack said, slightly irritated with the fact that it had been so long and he was still hung up on her.

"Of course she is, I'd be impossible for me to track her over there, and its pretty much the furthest she could get from me." Zane grumbled. Zack didn't respond, he didn't want to know what had gone on between the two of them, he needed less drama in his life, not more.

"I'm gonna head up." Zack told his brother. "We'll figure out where your going in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Zane said dismissively as he flipped on his TV.

* * *

Kaitlyn laid on the bed of what she could only assume was the guest bedroom. The room was clean and the sheets smelt as if they had been freshly washed. The room was bare with no personal affects. _Zane's room must be down the hallway. _She had pulled on a pair of sweatpants and shimmied out of her skirt. Kaitlyn had considered burning the skirt since the likelihood of her ever wearing it again was incredibly low. But for now she tossed it over near her bag, and threw her self into the bed. She laid, attempting to relax only to realize she could hear the conversation downstairs.

"_That girl is a world of trouble and you know it." _

"_I really don't need a lecture, but thank you. PS, did you hear about this from Dee?" _

"_Doesn't matter Zack." _

"_Forgetting about me for a second, Jondy's gotten herself in deep again." _

"_Yeah, well what else is new. We'll pull her out of San Fran if it gets to how it did in Dallas, and figure out what the hell to do with her. Back to you." Zack groaned loudly._

"_Seriously Zane shut the fuck up. It's been over a year and I'm still free, none of you have been caught and she really shows no fucking sign of wanting to go back." _

"_That's not the point. What happens when you break up with her or vise versa and she runs back crying to her daddy? He'll get info out of her. Something tells me if he offered her a new purse and some spending money, she'd give it up." _

At that point Kaitlyn had heard enough. She knew she was far from being a favorite of any of the X5s, but none of them knew her. _To assume I'd give them up for some cash and a purse is a new low. _She didn't want to hear any more, she covered her head with a pillow and laid quietly on the bed. _I wish they didn't all hate me. _A few minutes later she heard the door open, then close. She pulled the pillow off her head but remained in the same position.

"Hiding?" Zack questioned, she half grunted at him and kept her gaze on the wall in front of her. She could hear him pulling of his coat and boots before he got into the bed with her. He spooned behind her and pulled her close. Kaitlyn remained in a ball. "What's wrong with you?"

"Just thinking about the spending money and the new purse I'm getting." She grumbled, Zack sighed.

"You heard me stick up for you right? All that matters is that I know you would never do that. I don't care what they think." He told her.

"I stopped listening at that point, I just wish they didn't all hate me."

"It doesn't matter what any of them think. It only matters what I think." He paused. "Besides, your whole family hates me too, so we're even." They both laughed.


	28. Goodbye

**Los Angles, California, 2019**

**Two Days Later**

The door slamming violently downstairs jolted Kaitlyn out of her sleep. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand next to her it was 11am. _Fucking Zane, going to fucking work, this is the third morning in a row he's woken me up! _She groaned and rolled over expecting to find Zack next to her, but he wasn't. She closed her eyes for a few minutes and tried to get back to sleep, but to no avail.

Kaitlyn rolled out of bed and wandered downstairs. She found Zack on the couch next to Zane's dog, Casey. She stopped at the bottom of the staircase and watched them. It wasn't easy for her to not giggle. Zack glared over at her.

"Something funny?"

"You and your friend look cute there." Zack glanced at the dog that sat on the couch next to him and shrugged.

"He's alight." She smiled and sat in the recliner next to him. She turned to look at the TV to see what Zack was intently watching. _Wow, I didn't know Zack was so into his morning news. _Kaitlyn went to speak as the traffic report came on and Zack held his hand up to hush her. _What is up with him?_ When it was over he looked at her.

"What's with you?" Kaitlyn questioned.

"We are leaving soon… I need to know which streets have construction, and which ways I can get out of the city the fastest." He answered. She could feel the adrenal rise in her chest and blood flowing faster.

"What's happening Zack?" He stayed quiet. "Zack!" She yelled.

"I shouldn't have brought you here." Kaitlyn felt like she was going to have an anxiety attack. _What's happening? _"Lydecker's in the city, somehow they found out about Zane." She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "I knew when we came here Lydecker was onto him, and he needed to move, but I didn't think it would happen so fast."

"How did you find out he was here?"

"I have a few people inside Manticore, who tip me when big things happen. But after awhile though you just sense these things Kat." She remained quiet, all she wanted to do was go back to bed and forget about this all. Somehow Lydecker had gotten the drop on them months ago when they had been in San Diego and they had been able to escape. _That was all so last minute. _But this was planned, Lydecker had a strategy for this. She knew when her father was prepared, he was dangerous.

"Where'd Zane go?" She asked softly.

"Work. I told him he was stupid but he insisted." Kaitlyn got out of the recliner and straddled Zack's lap on the couch. She curled into his chest and could feel a few tears escape from her eyes. "Everything is gonna be fine. We've done this before remember?" He told her as his hand stroked her hair.

"I need you, I can't loose you." She whimpered into his chest. "I can't." He kissed the top of her head and leaned back into the couch.

"Please just sleep baby, you need to relax." Kaitlyn cried into his chest until she fell asleep.

* * *

Minutes passed like hours as Zack waited for Zane to return. Kaitlyn had finally calmed down a little and was eating a sandwich she had made. Casey sat in the chair next to her at the small table waiting for her to feed him scraps of meat from her meal. As big as the dog was he still managed to sit in a chair. _That fucking dog is convinced he is a human. _Zack rolled his eyes as he watched the scene. _At least he is keeping her calm…_

Zack also had to figure out a way to get the dog out of here, or at least somewhere safe until Zane could come back for him. Zane had found the dog about five years ago wandering the streets of Detroit and since then the two had been inseparable. He knew Zane wouldn't leave without knowing Casey was safe. _Thank god the dog is easier to manage than a husband and kid, Tinga is so damn stupid. _For now he pushed his sister out of his mind, he needed to focus on Zane now.

* * *

Zane returned to the house around 7 and bolted the door behind him and leaned up against it. He ran his fingers through his curly hair and took a deep breath. Kaitlyn glanced up from the newspaper she was reading and quickly went back to it.

"Lydecker is combing the city." Zane said to Zack who was seated on the couch, still watching a 24 hour news channel.

"Yeah no shit, I mentioned that this morning, but you had to go to work."

"It's too early in the game for him to swoop in and just take me. You got that tip at what? 4 this morning? If I do anything out of the ordinary someone will catch on. Besides the details were not the specific, it was that I was in L.A. working at a body shop." Zack was getting annoyed as Zane continued to babble, what he was saying made some sense, but now was not the time to argue anything.

"Just go get what you need." Zane glanced around the room and stopped before he went upstairs.

"Where is Casey?" He asked.

"I already put him in the car." Zane interrupted him.

"But it's-"

"The windows are down, he's fine." Zack told him. Zane jogged up the stairs. Kaitlyn glanced up from the paper and looked at Zack.

"He's got such a hard-on for that dog." She stated, and threw the newspaper to the floor, he shrugged. _I know what its like to have a hard-on for something, or someone…_ Zane returned a few minutes later with a small backpack of stuff.

"Not that I really want to say anything, but I find it kinda funny that I've never had any trouble here until-" Zane stopped and pointed at Kaitlyn. "she showed up." He finished. Kaitlyn blankly stared at him. She knew the X5s weren't crazy about her, but Zane was the first one to be so blunt about it.

"Shut the fuck up Zane." Zack growled at him. Kaitlyn remained seated her expression blank.

"I guess your credit card limit will get upped once you complete this mission, huh Kaitlyn?" He taunted, anger welled inside her. _How dare you. _Without any warning to the two men Kaitlyn leapt from her chair and landed on top of Zane, sending them toppling to the ground. She managed to punch him once across the face once before Zack pulled her off him.

"Don't you dare fucking judge me! Things have been far from easy for me you prick! I would never turn any of you in because I know the hell that's waiting for you." The room became incredibly silent, the only sound was Kaitlyn's heavy breathing. Zane stared up at her, his hand rubbing his face where she had just punched him. Zack held Kaitlyn tight against him until he was sure she wasn't going to go after Zane again. Zane pulled himself off the floor and the three stood glancing back and forth at each other for a minute. As Zack went to speak, screeching tires could be heard from outside. All three of them snapped to attention and Zack peered out the window. There were three all too familiar black hummers parked outside, with TAC teams jumping out of them.

"Out the back, out the back!" Zack called to them, Kaitlyn and Zane ran to the back door and quickly hopped the fence into the next yard directly in front of them. _Lead them away from where Zack is parked. _Kaitlyn took off running north, the car was parked east of them, _hopefully we can double back and pick it up later. _She could hear both Zane and Zack behind her keeping up.

The three split up at one point for several blocks as they ran through yards, driveways, and the streets of L.A.. After about 10 blocks or so they reconvened in what seemed to be at one point in time a commercial area, but was now abandoned. _Good thing for the Pulse. _Kaitlyn pulled her gun from the back of her pants and held it, ready to shoot if need be. Zack grabbed her and pulled her into one of the abandoned stores and held his finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet.

She noticed that Zane had walked to the back and was peering out one of many holes in the wall caused by missing bricks. Zack and her both found their own holes to look through. In what was formerly a parking lot behind the building, several more humvees and a TAC team that stood in a circle around someone; whom Kaitlyn could only assume was her father.

Her breath caught when she realized they were about to be pinned. It wasn't long now until the TAC team that had been chasing them caught up with them and boxed them in. She looked to Zack who was still watching the scene in the parking lot. _We need a diversion. It makes no sense for all three of us to get caught. _Kaitlyn frowned when she realized what she had to do.

"You guys need to get out of here now, before we get pinned." She said softly.

"I know but we need some kind of distraction." Zack responded.

"I'll do it, go." She told him. _Please don't make this any harder than it needs to be Zack._

"Are you crazy? Absolutely not." He snipped at her.

"Go!" Kaitlyn whispered to Zack and Zane. She was willing to sacrifice herself so that the other two X5's could escape. As scared as she was to go back to Manticore, she knew it wouldn't be as bad for her as it would be for them.

"No I'm not leaving without you Kaitlyn."

"Zack I love you, let me go I'll be fine!" She paused waiting for him to interject but he didn't. "Please go!" She begged again.

"Come on man, there isn't much time." Zane said to his brother. Zack stopped and looked into Kaitlyn's eyes. They had spent so much time together in the past year and a half, letting was hard. He realized this was how much she loved him; she was willing to give herself up so he could escape.

"I love you." Zack said, he leaned in and kissed her for the last time for a long time. She caught his lips and cupped the side of his face. He broke the kiss.

"I love you more." She said softly before turning her back on him. Zack stood, unwilling to leave just yet, only to have Zane grab his arm and pull him towards the front of the store where they had entered. He took one last look at her and left. _Please let her escape._

* * *

Kaitlyn watched Lydecker's TAC teams converging in a parking lot from one of the many holes in the wall. _No doubt expecting an easy capture. _She clutched her gun in her hand and stepped though an oversized hole in the wall. Kaitlyn quickly ducked behind a dumpster and looked around one last time. Directly across the lot were blocks of apartment buildings, with alleys between them. _If I can get to an alley I'll have some cover, and an opportunity to disappear. _She took a deep breath and started running across the parking lot. Kaitlyn began to shoot her gun in the direction of the TAC team, not intending to hit anyone but only to call some attention to herself. However the one thing that she had missed was X5 494, who had been just deemed fit for active duty and was standing amongst the soldiers.

* * *

Lydecker stood in the middle of his troops giving them his plan of attack. X5-205 had finally resurfaced it had taken several years. Intelligence had finally gathered some solid information on Zane. He had more than enough soldiers with him to make sure tonight was successful. At the last minute he decided to bring the recently re-activated 494 for with him for added insurance. There was to much riding on the outcome of this mission.

As he was finishing his briefing gunshots echoed in the air and two of his men fell to the ground. Lydecker turned his head toward where the shots had came from. There was a girl sprinting across who had fired the gun. Her hair was long, straight, and light brown. She wore heeled boots, dark blue jeans and a leather jacket. _Syl? Jondy? _The names of the female X5's echoed through his mind as the girl disappeared into an alley.

"Don't let her get away!" Lydecker yelled to his men. He watched as 494 took off after the girl. Lydecker turned back to his TAC teams and gave them new directions. No matter how tonight ended, he was determined to have an X5 by the time it was over.

* * *

Kaitlyn ran between the buildings and jumped up onto a fire escape, she began climbing the stairs towards the top. She stopped suddenly and pushed herself against the side of the building when she heard the voices of Lydecker's men approaching. She watched them run underneath her and down the alley, she grinned to herself.

"Idiots." She said softly. She tucked the gun into the back of her pants and began to climb again.

* * *

It was a four story building and took no time at all before she reached the top. Kaitlyn walked towards the center of the roof and took a breath trying to relax. Apart of her hadn't been sure she would make it this far, half expecting to be caught in the parking lot. _Now what? _She ran her fingers through her hair trying to think about how to get away. Her thoughts were scrambled when she was kicked in the back causing her to fall on her stomach.

Rolling over Kaitlyn looked up to see who her attacker was. She caught the eyes of the man and could tell he meant business. _Oh fuck._ She made no attempt to move, still trying to size up what to do and he half grinned at her.

"I was prepared to fight, but if you want to do the easy way, it makes my life easier." _Asshole._

"Who are you?" Kaitlyn asked as she flattened her palms on the rooftop, ready to spring up when she needed to.

"X5 494." He paused and looked her up and down. "I'd ask who you are but I already know, everybody at Manticore knows." She glared at him. "By the way, your mug shots don't do you any justice 398." He paused again and she could see him staring at her cleavage. _Pig. _"Seeing the entire package all together now kinda gets me going." He grinned again. _Fuck you. _She had had enough, it hadn't crossed her mind that she would have to tangle with another X5 tonight but now she was ready. He was still focused on her cleavage so she took her opportunity to launch herself off the ground and over his head, kicking his face in the process. She landed on the other side of him in a fighting stance.

"It seems you and every other man in the world have the same weakness." She told him sarcastically as he rubbed his hand over his face. They began to circle one another.

"I give you a compliment and you kick me in the face? Nice girls don't do that."

"To bad I'm not a nice girl." She moved forward quickly and managed to punch the side of his face.

"Enough with the face! It's my best asset!" She continued to circle him, but was confused by the entire situation. _Why the fuck does he keep talking? He's so damn annoying, how did he last five minutes at Manticore?_

"Could we just fight and get this over with? I have other plans tonight." She snipped at him.

"If you're smart you'll give yourself up now, you don't have a chance." Kaitlyn punched him in the stomach. "I'll take that as a no." Before she even knew what was happening the X5s fist met her face and Kaitlyn felt her nose crack. _Well there goes my perfect nose._ She clutched her face and could see the blood collecting on her hand from her nose. "Not so much fun is it?" The chatty X5 questioned standing ready to fight.

"Oh fuck you!" Kaitlyn yelled as she kicked his stomach, there was no turning back now. 494 blurred from her vision after the kick and Kaitlyn stood pensively waiting for him to attack. Within seconds she could hear him behind her and she quickly turned and caught his fist with her hand. With his other fist he punched her jaw and she stumbled. 494 took advantage of her momentary lapse and kicked her square in the ribs sending her into the steel door that led inside the building. She lost her breath and her face grimaced in pain as she glared at 494.

"You have no chance, I already told you that." He told her coldly as he played with the gloves on his hand. Kaitlyn didn't respond she blurred, punched him as hard as she could across his face and swept her leg under his feet sending him to the ground. He quickly pushed off the rooftop and kicked her knee. Kaitlyn felt something in her knee move out of place and she bit her lip. She was able to remain standing, but was in a lot of pain. She knew she was running out of options. _Think! Think!_ Kaitlyn reached for her gun and pulled it out holding it at 494.

"I don't want to kill you." He rolled his eyes at her and blurred grabbing her hand that was holding the gun. She fired it as the both struggled to gain control of it. 494 twisted and pulled her arm over his shoulder, pulling her own shoulder out of place. She whirled around and punched him in the face, sending the gun across the rooftop.

"You are such a stupid bitch." 494 growled before charging her again.

* * *

494 lay on the ground in front of her, he hadn't moved in a few minutes and Kaitlyn could just about breathe. Somehow she had been able to get him in a chokehold and cut off his oxygen supply. She sat on the ledge of the roof trying to figure out her next move. Her nose was broken, her shoulder was dislocated, a few of her ribs were broken, and her knee was badly much as she wanted to run away right now, she knew she wasn't getting far.

She never thought much about what Manticore did to her when they changed her into X5 but after being able to go toe to toe with 494, she realized she was far from being an ordinary X5. With the right training, Kaitlyn knew she would be one of the finest things to ever come out of Manticore. _I have to get out of here!_

Kaitlyn closed her eyes and attempted to push herself up, but quickly returned to her previous position. _Everything hurts. _Her sixth sense kicked in and she knew something was wrong. She snapped her eyes open in time to watch 494 stab a knife into her hip. Pain surged through her body and she could no longer hold herself up. Kaitlyn could feel herself falling off the rooftop but couldn't stop it.

Seconds later her feet hit the pavement below but the impact was too much for her already twisted knee and she heard yet another crack. She tumbled onto her side, scraping her cheek on the pavement from the impact. She opened her mouth to scream, but couldn't. Every part of her body ached. _Is this what dying feels like? _Kaitlyn thought as she lay alone in the dark alley. She could see TAC soldiers running towards her and her breathing became shallow. With the knife still stuck in her hip Kaitlyn slowly drifted into unconsciousness. She whimpered softly and her eyes slipped closed. _Zack... I love you._

* * *

Please Review! Thank you for reading! -Katie


	29. Hello

**Gillette, Wyoming, 2019**

Lydecker walked into his office, his daughter's medical records in hand. She had returned to Manticore a week ago and the folder was already very thick since she had practically died the day she returned. He couldn't believe the state she had been in upon her capture. Granted she had been in a fight with 494, one of his best, and a fall off of a four story building. He wasn't that sure a normal X5 could have survived that. He knew the procedure they had done on her before she escaped had made her stronger and more powerful than a normal X5, but after the injuries she sustained, and her recovery time, it only gave him more questions. As always, he intended to find answers, with or without Kaitlyn's cooperation.

He slid into his executive chair behind his desk and pulled a few of the papers from his daughter's medical record. He glanced down and saw to his dismay he had pulled out her mug shots. He had been attempting to think of her as another X5, not his daughter. But the pictures and seeing her in person were proof that she was his little girl He knew he had to get over it, once she woke up, she would be another Manticore soldier, she had to be.

He hadn't seen Kaitlyn until a few hours after she fell off the roof. His men had picked her up immediately and taken her to a helicopter to fly her back to Manticore. They had been afraid she wouldn't live much longer. When he had been told that 398 had been captured his emotions almost took control of him, but he kept it in check. However, good news is almost always followed by bad news.

"_Where is she?" Lydecker questioned._

"_Sir, ummm." The soldier was very hesitant on what to say next._

"_Spit it out." He snipped at his subordinate._

"_She's already been taken to the helicopter."_

"_Why would anyone do that with out my orders?" He yelled, he was afraid that she would escape, he wanted extra percussions to be taken with her._

"_X5-398 was very badly injured Sir." His mood suddenly dipped from angry to worry. _

"_How badly?" He asked concerned._

"_Very badly." The man said softly. _

Lydecker swallowed the lump that had grown in his throat while thinking about the events of that night.

_He had followed her on the next helicopter back to Manticore. He arrived only minutes after his daughter had, and when he saw her they were prepping her for surgery. Her face was bruised, cut and swollen. The nurses had torn her shirt off to reveal her badly bruised ribs. Lydecker was sure just by looking at her that a majority of her ribs were broken. His eyes continued downwards to reveal a knife sticking from her hip and one of her legs was twisted at an odd angle. He hadn't noticed that Agent Sanvadol had come in behind him._

"_Sir?"_

"_What?" Lydecker said softly not removing his eyes from his daughter's battered body._

"_Renfro wants a report." Lydecker took one last look at his daughter, swallowed and left the room. _

Capturing Kaitlyn had been a complete and total surprise. It wasn't unwelcome though, she had been gone a year and a half and he had longed for her to reappear. She had been impossible to track, his only hint to where she would be was wherever Zack was. It wasn't as if he hadn't been surprised she'd been impossible to catch, she had learned from Zack. The pictures on his desk were the only thing he could look at. No longer was she the innocent, pretty, sweet, looking girl she had once been, he had hardly recognized her when he first saw her. She was hard now, it was evident she had picked it up from the '09ers.

Kaitlyn's dark curly hair was gone; her hair now had either been died a light blonde or had turned that way from time in the sun. Her hair was long and straight, opposite of what had once been. When she had oringally been caught her skin was very tan, but had faded over the last week. _Guess she was on vacation. _He frowned at the thought of her laying on beach with Zack. _I'll have to ask her about that… _Her belly button was now pierced, and she had added several more piercing to her ears. He had never allowed her to have anything but her ears pierced and clearly she had taken advantage of the freedom she had had. _This is precisely why I haven't let her have any freedom._

After a year and a half of worrying, and searching he finally had Kaitlyn back. But he still couldn't help but feel that the girl in these pictures wasn't his daughter. This girl had to be just another kid off the street, lost, confused, and raised in a broken home. However she wasn't a street kid, this was his little girl, his angel, and his only daughter. Lydecker groaned and rubbed his temple, the stress of this situation was starting to get to him.

He began to pick through her medical records under the pictures. The doctors had done a full physical on her on his orders. He wanted to make sure that her DNA was okay; they hadn't even have the chance to examine her after the procedure. She had escaped only hours after. Lydecker had worried that possibly not everything had gone the way it was supposed to and she could end up with a genetic flaw like some of the other X's. But for the most part everything seemed okay. He skimmed each page though looking for something in particular.

He was slightly terrified to look closely, knowing what inevitably happened with all X5 females. But he hoped she had been spared. _Even if she doesn't go into heat, she was living with Zack a year and a half, what do you think went on there? _He growled at the idea, he knew what happened between them but wasn't ready to admit it to himself. _Hell, she could be 40 with kids and I still wouldn't admit it to myself. _As he glance he noticed she did seem to have an issue with seizures, but that was hardly out of the ordinary for X5s. Lydecker skimmed the next few pages before he found what he was looking for and groaned at what he saw. _X5-398 shows signs of an estrous cycle multiple times during the year_.

"Damnit." He grumbled. He leaned back in his chair and sulked like a little kid would. His thoughts than drifted to his little girl, and how she used to sulk if she was mad or upset. That only made him scowl more. "Kaitlyn you are going to be the death of me." He stated out loud to himself. He had spent multiple years in the military and training expert killing machines, and a teenage girl was going to be his downfall. His phone interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes?" He asked rather irritated. _I'm not done sulking yet…_

"She's awake sir." Lydecker put the phone back on the receiver and sighed. He closed the thick folder of his daughters records and left them on his desk. He stood up and made his way towards the med bay. He was in deep thought during his walk. _Things were not supposed to be like this for her. _Kaitlyn had always been bright, she did well in all her classes in school, and had had a bright future ahead of her. But she threw it all away, for Zack. _When I find him, well he just better hope I don't find him… _He couldn't help but wonder now what would happen when he spoke to his daughter. _Will she be sorry? Scared? Sad? Or belligerent? _He opted for the last option, both of his kids were stubborn.

When he arrived at the window outside Kaitlyn's room, he stood looking in at her. She had been in a coma for nearly a week. The doctors had doubted her survival from the beginning, but she proved them wrong. Each day she had showed signs of improvement. Had she not been an X5 she would have died in that alley. Her right knee had been shattered, three ribs were broken, a concussion, left shoulder had been dislocated; nose broken, and a major artery had been damaged as a result of the stab wound. Lydecker took a deep breath and entered the room.

* * *

Kaitlyn lay in her very uncomfortable hospital bed. Upon waking up she had only fidgeted for a few minutes trying to get loose from her restraints, but had no luck. Each time she moved another part of her body ache with pain, and she decided it would be best to just stay still.

Her memory of how she had been captured was fuzzy. She remembered fighting with 494, the annoying, chatty X5 and laying in a dark alley. _Did I fall off the roof? Shit._ Kaitlyn pushed her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes. _How can I get out of here? _She once again pulled at one of her restraints and a shooting pain quickly began through various parts of her body. _Ok, I'm so done moving. _

She couldn't help but wonder how long she had been here for. _Days? Weeks? Months? _Kaitlyn assumed since she was still in pretty bad shape it hadn't been that long. _I hope Zack knows I'm okay…_ She groaned at the thought of Zack. They were apart, and neither one of the was willing to be. _I need him._ She had become so reliant on him in the past year, the thought of not seeing him for a long time only caused more pain. She felt like crying, but didn't, being at Manticore was an all around test, mental and physical and she intended to pass.

"Welcome home." Lydecker's voice interrupted her thoughts and she glanced towards the door to see her father standing there. She rolled her eyes and glared at the ceiling.

"Yeah, hi." She grumbled. His footsteps echoed in the room; Kaitlyn could hear him coming closer but opted not to look, mainly because it hurt to turn her head, but also because she didn't give a damn.

"Catching you was a nice surprise." He said from the foot of her bed.

"For you." She muttered.

"Nice tan, did you just get back from vacation?" _He's testing you… _She smiled at him.

"You would just love to know everything I've been up to."

"Trust me, I've already figured out some of it." He said flatly.

"Gee aren't you smart." She said sarcastically. The room became silent and Kaitlyn closed her eyes again. _Maybe if I pretend like he isn't here, he'll go away. _

"I'm leaving this up to you Kaitlyn. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." _So much for that._

"I'm guessing the easy way would be you pull me into one of your interrogation rooms and I tell you every little detail about where I've been, and who I've seen and in return you'll bring me back home and let me be your little girl again?" He nodded at her if to say 'yes'. "Thanks, but I'll pass on that." She told him sarcastically. Lydecker walked over to her bedside and sat in the chair placed next to her.

"You…" Lydecker started. "Have caused a tremendous amount of damage here. You destroyed a ten year intelligence operation in a matter of weeks. I will not be made a fool of Kaitlyn Jessica." He practically growled at her, she snickered and glared at him.

"I think it's a little late for that, fact of the matter is a teenage girl was able to hack your system and get in touch with one of your escapees. You've already been made a fool of." She shifted back to looking at the ceiling and out of the corner of her eye she could see her father bite his lip.

"This is my job, this is what I do. If they didn't want to be hunted down then they shouldn't have left."

"Maybe if you hadn't treated them so badly they wouldn't have run."

"You don't know anything about how they were treated."

"I watched you gun down Eva, I think I know damn well how they were treated." She spat. Lydecker sat silently and stared at her. _Where is my little girl? _"You drove them away with your incessant torture, and you drove me away with two things." She stopped and caught his stare. "Never being there when I needed you, and when you were around, you would waltz in and give me orders as if you were always there. I raised myself Donald, you were just lucky to be in my presence." Kaitlyn said coldly. Even after she had said it, it seemed harsh to her but she knew it was the truth.

"Where are the others?" He asked calmly. He knew her game, just like she knew his, they were both trying to get a rise out of the other one. He refused to be toyed with. Kaitlyn shrugged and glared at the ceiling. "So be it then." Lydecker stood up and left the room. She watched him go, a little afraid of what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

**Northern Georgia, Interstate 95**

Zack had left Zane in Florida with a stack of a hundred dollar bills and a grunt that had sounded like goodbye. He was mad at his brother, hell, he was mad at the world.

"_You're better off." Zane had told him as they drove through Louisiana. Zack said nothing and ran his fingers through his hair. He had been cooped up in a car with Zane and his stupid dog for far to long. It also didn't help that he knew nothing about Kaitlyn, he needed to get in touch with his Manticore contacts. "I'm serious man." Zane nudged again._

"_Shut up Zane." Zack told him. _

"_I know you love her or whatever, but she's not one of us." _

"_Zane?" Zack questioned._

"_Yeah?"_

"_If you don't shut the fuck up now I'm leaving you and that dog on the side of this road." Zane rolled his eyes and looked out the window. _

"_Wonder what Lydecker is gonna do to her back at Manticore?" Zane casually mentioned. Silence engulfed the car as Zack refused to answer. The truth was, he was afraid to even think about it. _

Now he was just driving, no destination in mind, just driving. He knew it was a desperate attempt on his part to escape Manticore's clutches, but he never could, everything in his life would slowly be ripped away by Manticore. The one good thing that had come into his life was gone now. Even without getting in touch with his contacts he knew, she would have made contact by now. It had been five days.

He kept the windows down as the entire SUV still smelt like Zane's dog. He had been nauseous since they had left L.A. because of the smell. Zack checked his blind spot on the passengers side before switching lanes, but his eyes caught something in the back seat. He glance again and the stupid cowboy hat him and Kaitlyn had acquired in Mexico. He smiled and laughed to himself but the empty passenger seat next to him brought him back to reality. Kaitlyn was gone and he was alone again.


	30. Warning

**Gillette, Wyoming, 2019**

"Brandon its really not a good idea for you to see her." Lydecker told his son. Brandon was pacing his fathers office to anxious to sit. Lydecker looked up from his computer and watched him for a few moments. "Could you sit the hell down?" Brandon stopped and looked at him.

"If you let me see my sister." Lydecker sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"It's a bad idea Brandon. Things can't be the way they were before." Brandon glared at him and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I have unresolved issues." He grumbled. "and I need to know she is okay."

"She's fine." Lydecker stated as he sat up straight and looked at his computer again.

"That's not good enough!" Brandon yelled at him. Lydecker stood up from behind his desk and stared his son down.

"Brandon! This is not a simple fix! She has to stay here, she is an X5, she did this to herself and she has to face the consequences now. She's not my daughter anymore, she's a soldier." Lydecker told him in his authoritative voice he normally saved for his subordinates. Brandon knew he was right, things couldn't be the same.

"It's fine if you don't want her to be your daughter anymore, but she's still my sister and I need to see her." As Brandon finished the doors to his fathers office slid open and Renfro walked in. She smiled at Brandon and he felt a chill creep up his spine. Renfro stopped in front of him and her hand grabbed his chin.

"He's the spitting image of you Deck." She said, Brandon did his best to keep his expression neutral. _Crazy bitch. _"Quite handsome too." She said softly, her eyes locking with Brandon's. Renfro let go of Brandon's chin and walked over to one of the chairs in front of Lydecker's desk. Brandon swallowed the lump that had grown during his interaction with her. She made him uneasy, very uneasy.

"We'll finish this later Brandon." His father told him. Without any hesitation Brandon walked out of the office and into the hallway. He took a deep breath upon leaving the tension filled room. The hallway was quiet as he stood thinking. _Well dad's occupied now, guess I could take a walk through the medical wing. _He pulled his Manticore ID from his pocket and headed towards his sister's room.

* * *

"How is she doing?" Renfro asked Lydecker, her fingers running along the edge of his desk.

"She's awake, and recovering nicely." He paused. "In a few weeks we can have her training." She glared across at Lydecker making him shift uncomfortably.

"Cooperative?" Lydecker bit his lip.

_"I'm leaving this up to you Kaitlyn. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." _

_"I'm guessing the easy way would be you pull me into one of your interrogation rooms and I tell you every little detail about where I've been, and who I've seen and in return you'll bring me back home and let me be your little girl again?" He nodded at her if to say 'yes'. "Thanks, but I'll pass on that." _

"Not exactly." He grumbled leaning back in his chair, Renfro raised an eyebrow.

"You'll need to make her that way." Lydecker nodded. "The committee wants more progress on the 09ers. Being we now have the girlfriend of the CO who knows where they all are I expect you to take full advantage of that." He glanced up at her. "If you won't do it, then I will Deck."

"Okay." He said dumbfounded. _What else can I say? _She stood up and rested her hands on the edge of his desk and leaned down closely into his face.

"I don't want to hear anything about how she doesn't know anything either Deck. She spent a year and a half with 599, she knows everything he does and think we need an 09er reunion around here." She said coldly. His eyes were locked with hers and she smiled. "It won't be so bad Deck." She paused. "Just see it as punishment for all the bad things you know she was doing." With that she turned on her heel and walked towards the doors. As they opened she called back to him. "I want constant updates!"

"Son of a bitch." He grumbled before putting his head in his hands.

* * *

On the other side of the building Brandon was making his way towards the wing his sister was in. His Manticore ID gave him access to most areas in the building, except for the highly classified ones. But if he ever needed to get somewhere he didn't have access he knew he could turn on his charm. He couldn't help but smirk to himself.

He stopped at the small nurses station in his sister's hallway and leaned over the desk. Moments later he made eye contact with one of the nurses.

"I'm here to see X5-398." He stated simply followed by a small smile. She smiled back and came out from behind the desk walking towards on of the rooms down the hall. She waved her ID over the sensor for the door and it unlocked. She held the door from him and he nodded. "Thanks." He told her, and she walked away.

He paused in the doorway and looked at his little sister who was laying awake in bed, with restraints on her wrists. He cleared his throat and she looked over, once she saw him her expression changed immediately, from serious to soft.

"Brandon." She said as she breathed. He didn't move towards her, he kept his hands in his pockets and just looked at her. "I'm sorry." She paused. "I'm so sorry." His gaze drifted to the floor and he walked over to her. "Are you okay?" She asked. He nodded.

"You fucked up my knee pretty bad, I had to do physical therapy for awhile." He finally reached the chair next to her bed and sat down. Kaitlyn's eyes squeezed shut and she swallowed.

"I'm sorry." She said again, her voice breaking. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Shhh." He told her. Brandon grabbed her hand and she held tightly. "I'm over it now."

"I was a mess for weeks Brandon. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had done to you." She shifted her head and looked at him, he gazed back at her sadly and shrugged.

"Doesn't matter anymore Kat." He reached up and ran his hand over her head. "You gave us quite a scare, you were a mess when they brought you in."

"Yeah." She took a deep breath and cringed at the pain it caused. "I don't really remember that whole thing. I just have bits and pieces of it."

"They think there is something really special with your DNA now. Dad said if you were a normal X5 you wouldn't have survived the combination of the fight and the fall." They both knew he was telling her that as a warning for what was to come for her, she sighed.

"Great."

"I'm not going to be able to see you for awhile. I'm not even supposed to be here now. Renfro caught dad's ear." Kaitlyn looked at her brother and frowned.

"If I could change anything in all this it would be you Brandon. I'm sorry you ended up in the middle." He kissed her forehead and stood up.

"I have to go." He whispered. "Take care of yourself baby sister." She nodded.

"Love you Brandon." She told him as he walked away. He stopped and turned around.

"Love you too."


	31. Hell, Part One

**Gillette, Wyoming, 2019**

The only sounds in the cold woods surrounding Manticore was Kaitlyn's heavy breathing and the snow and ice crunching under her feet. _Faster. Run faster. _She tripped slightly, but managed to catch herself before she hit the ground. _I have to find cover. _Her eyes squinted as she turned and ran into the sun which was setting in front of her. _You can't make it past the perimeter guards in this condition. _She froze in her tracks at that thought. _I need to rest; maybe tomorrow I'll be able to make it. _

Her hands shook uncontrollably in the cold Wyoming air. She glanced down to see scratches and cuts on the backs of her hands. Deep lacerations ran through her palms from the barbed wire at the top of the fence that surrounded the yard. She hadn't felt any pain in her hands when she hopped the fence.

Kaitlyn managed to pull her eyes away from her hands and out of the haze she had drifted into and ran to the nearest pine tree. She climbed up several branches before stopping. _It's safe here for now. _She just about managed to pull herself onto a branch and leaned against the trunk. _Try to sleep. _The branch was thick enough for her to pull her legs up to her chest and rest her chin on her knees. Her whole body began to shake as she became acclimated to the low temperature. _It's better than Manticore. Anything is better than Manticore. I can't go back. _Kaitlyn drifted in and out of consciousness for several minutes before finally letting her guard down long enough to sleep for the first time in weeks.

* * *

**Six Weeks Earlier**

As soon as she had recovered from her injuries Kaitlyn had been moved from her private hospital room to a solitary confinement cell. Suddenly her previous set up seemed like a palace compared to the small 8x8 cell.

She had been warned that her training would start tomorrow. Kaitlyn had managed to keep a straight face when she had been told, but on the inside she was terrified. Manticore training was not for the weak, and after the only training she had received was from Zack, she wasn't sure if she could be considered strong at this point.

Kaitlyn hardly slept that night. One of her ribs was still slightly bruised from the injuries she sustained when she was caught and the metal spring jutting out of the mattress didn't make it any easier to sleep. For a majority of the night she laid on her back looking up at the ceiling reflecting on how she had gotten herself into this mess. But the conclusion she continued to meet was that it didn't matter anymore, she was in too deep at this point.

Several hours later voices could be heard in the hallway and she pushed herself up onto her elbow attempting to stretch. There was no need to dress as she had slept in her Manticore issued clothes and boots that had been given to her a few days prior. Moments later her cell door slid open and she glared at the two soldiers in front of her.

"Colonel Lydecker has requested you report to training facility immediately." One of the two told her. She continued to stare at the two soldiers a few seconds longer before sitting up and placing her feet on the floor.

"God forbid we disobey his command." She muttered as she stood and tucked in her shirt and pulled her hair up into a bun. She tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ears and turned to face the guards. "Shall we?" She asked. One of them promptly grabbed her upper arm and yanked her towards the door. Kaitlyn pulled her arm back roughly and glared at the solider. "Chill!" She snipped before heading into the hallway.

* * *

**Present**

Kaitlyn gasped as she woke up. Her eyes snapped open as she eyed her surroundings. As she realized she hadn't fallen asleep inside her cell at Manticore she took a gigantic breath and leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree. It was still dark but she could see that the sun was beginning to rise. _How long did I sleep? 12 hours? I haven't slept 12 consecutive hours since I got caught. _

She glanced down at her hands, and now her fingertips were turning blue. Kaitlyn again rested her head against the tree trunk and gritted her teeth, wanting so badly to cry. _BE STRONG. You can do this! _She cupped her hands together and took a deep breath hoping to generate some warmth. She swallowed and almost cried in pain as she realized how dehydrated she was from her dry throat. Kaitlyn stood cautiously and began to climb down to the ground. _Water, I need water. _

* * *

**Six Weeks Earlier**

After being shuffled in and out of various rooms throughout the facility all day Kaitlyn was finally dumped in one of the gyms. She had run ten miles, had a grueling workout and undergone a series of tests. She could only imagine what would be thrown at her next.

The best part to the day was that she hadn't seen her father anywhere. _Maybe he has gotten the point I can't stand the sight of him. _Kaitlyn knew better than to think he wasn't watching her, it was a big place, and she knew he was lurking in the shadows somewhere.

The bang of a steel door in the gym snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to see who had entered. She turned and crossed her arms across her chest as she watched 494 walk towards her.

"What you didn't get enough last time?" She snipped continuing to glare at him unimpressed. He chuckled and stopped a few feet from her.

"Don't be so cocky." He replied.

"If you hadn't sucked so bad I wouldn't be." Kaitlyn responded coldly. 494 grinned darkly at her and before she knew what was happening he had her in a head lock.

"Now what 398?" 494 taunted. She kicked at his legs and struggled to breathe. "Huh?" He questioned tightening his embrace on her neck.

"Fuck you." Kaitlyn growled. He laughed low at a level only she could hear before whispering into her ear.

"I'd love you too." Kaitlyn's eyes flew open at his statement and smashed her head into his freeing her from his grasp. She took several steps away from him and stood ready for his next move. 494 moved his hand up to wipe the blood now coming out of his broken nose. They began to circle as the two of them locked eyes.

"You know…." 494 started. Kaitlyn cut him off though.

"Let just dance okay?" Kaitlyn yelled before lunging at him.

* * *

**Present**

Kaitlyn managed a small smile when she found a stream in front of her. Her smile quickly disappeared though when she realized how dry her lips were and that blood was now trickling out of them. She fell to her knees and washed the dried blood from her hands and splashed some of the cold water on her face.

Kaitlyn then cupped her hands again sipped the water from it. It was the first time in nearly week she had anything to drink. Renfro had cut off food and fluids to her long ago. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the water. Her hair was matted, frizzy, greasy, and knotted. Dark circles were under her eyes, bruises appeared on her face and neck along with several cuts. _Is Zack worth all this? _

A deep cough interrupted her thoughts and her whole body began to shake in pain. She groaned as the cough subsided and spit out whatever mucus had come up. _Look at yourself! _Her eyes ran up and down her arms which were just as battered as her face. Her hands shook in front of her. _ Is Zack worth this? _As she glanced at her reflection again a familiar thought came to mind. _It doesn't matter if he's worth it. I'm already in too deep._

* * *

**Three Weeks Earlier**

"Absolutely not. The training regimen she's currently involved is brutal enough. If you add in psychoactives it will kill her." Lydecker stated to Renfro. She smiled and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Deck… We've been through this before." She told him, pulling a gun from her suit jacket and placed it on her desk as a reminder of who was in charge. "I'll kill you and do what I want anyway, so you can choose." His eyes fell to the gun and he swallowed nervously.

"She can't take it. You know she can't." Lydecker repeated. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the front of his desk.

"That's the point Deck. The committee wants more progress on the 09ers, who better to ask than your daughter?" Renfro leaned in close to him. "I told you to get this done weeks ago, and since she still isn't being cooperative, we'll do it my way." She said softly. Lydecker looked at Renfro who was sitting on the opposite side of her desk. He stood and leaned over the desk getting close to her in a final desperate plea.

"Psyops and Psychoactives might do permanent damage or kill her, and then she'll be of no use to us at all, physically or mentally."

"I'm willing to take that risk."

"I'm not." Lydecker answered pushing himself off her desk to stand up straight. Within seconds Renfro was standing and had the gun aimed at his chest.

"Final chance Deck." She threatened. His eyes fell to the gun as he contemplated his choices. _Die and she'll never be safe, or agree to torture her and be able to keep her somewhat safe…_

"Do it." He whispered softly. Renfro smile widened as she put the gun back into her jacket.

"Come with me." Renfro ordered.

* * *

**Present**

Kaitlyn found herself in another tree after getting a few sips of water. She had almost vomited the little bit of water she had been able to drink. She could only begin to imagine the damage Renfro had done. Her body was shaking again, but this time she knew it wasn't just the cold, a seizure was coming on.

"Please, please, please, please, please." She whispered through her chattering teeth. "Not now please not now." Kaitlyn closed her eyes and bit her lip drawing blood as she prayed to a god she didn't believe in to ward off her seizure. "Please, please, please." She repeated. Tears welled over in her eyes and began to fall, freezing to her cheeks. _Just breathe._ She told herself as her body began to violently shake.

* * *

**Three Weeks Earlier**

"Where are you taking me?" Kaitlyn snipped at the guards currently holding her. "Hey are you fucking deaf?!" She yelled. "Where are we going?" The next corner they turned answered her question. The psyops wing. Her eyes went wide and she tugged away from the soldiers. They grabbed her again and once more she pulled away and was successful. However as soon as she turned around she found herself eye to eye with her father.

"One last shot to tell me where they are Kaitlyn." He said softly. She swallowed and stood her ground.

"I've already told you no." She ground out.

"I don't want to do this Kaitlyn." He whispered so only she could hear him. "Please don't make me do this."

"I'm not making you do anything." She responded. Silence came over the hallway momentarily as the father and daughter looked at one another.

"Bring her in." Lydecker told the guards holding her with a hint of sadness in his voice. Kaitlyn screamed and attempted to pull from their hold but had no success. In a matter of minutes she found herself strapped to a cold metal table and needles pricking her in various places.

"Get off me!" She screamed attempting to pull from her bonds. Again she felt another needle prick her and a burning sensation before her body began to relax. She still continued to breathe heavily however. She could feel things being taped to her and her mouth being slightly gagged. Hands came at her face and she closed her eyes trying to fight them off, but with no success. One of her eyes was pried open and held open by an instrument. Everything after that became hazy.

* * *

**Present**

Renfro sat in her office her eyes on her computer screen, a dark smile plastered across her face. She was watching Kaitlyn's location in the woods, and in the day she had let the girl escape from the facility, she hadn't gotten far at all. Upon Kaitlyn's return to Manticore Lydecker had had a tracking device as well as an audio recorder inserted into the girl's ear canal. _Overbearing father much?_

At first Renfro had hoped she would lead them to another X5, but it was evident at this point that she wasn't even going to make it to the outlying fence. All that had been heard from the girl so far was her heavy breathing and muttered thoughts to herself. Based on the tracker Kaitlyn had made it about a mile from the main building on the Manticore compound and seemed dazed and confused as she wandered the woods in circles. For now though Kaitlyn would be fine, Renfro had ordered all of the perimeter guards to stay away from her.

Renfro's manicured nails ran along her steel desk and watched as the small spot on the screen that represented Kaitlyn came to a stop. If she wanted the girl to live she would bring her in knowing the condition she was in when she escaped and how confused she seemed to be now. But Renfro didn't want her to live, she wanted her to die and suffer slowly.

Lydecker had left six days ago on her insistence. She desperately wanted some alone time with his daughter turned X5. Kaitlyn had caused the most amount of trouble at Manticore since the escape in 2009 and Renfro wanted her punished.

* * *

**One Week Earlier**

Lydecker stormed into Renfro's office and threw a file folder on her desk. She only acknowledged him briefly before turning back to what she had been working on. Lydecker snarled at her reaction.

"She gave up something about an apartment in San Francisco and information on X5-701 and X5-210." He barked at her. Renfro glanced up at him.

"And you are still here because…." She asked.

"All we have is the unreliable word of a drugged up X5, we need confirmation." He told her. "This information is a lot more valuable if we don't just storm in and we do the necessary recon."

"I'm tired of waiting Deck. I suggest you go find me one of your 'kids' and quick."

"I'm telling you now that is a bad idea." He spat at her. "My 'kids' are smart." Lydecker said mimicking her.

"Then how about we strap 398 up again and see what else she has to say." Renfro said with a smile. Lydecker took a deep breath and composed himself before stepped back from her desk.

"That won't be necessary." He said softly.

"That's what I thought." Renfro responded.

* * *

**6 Days Earlier**

Renfro strode though the long Manticore hallways towards where 398 was being held. The area was heavily guarded because of her previous escape and was also in the psyops area of the building. She was no longer being kept in the normal barracks near the training part of the facility.

Kaitlyn was now considered a full time psyops project. During the first few days she had been taken to psyops the girl had continued training. But on day 6 of having psychoactives used on her she collapsed in the gym and remained unconscious for several hours. As Renfro walked through the door several guards stood at attention.

"I'm here to see X5-398." She stated and began to walk forward.

"We have strict orders from Colonel Lydecker not allow anyone into this area, ma'am." One of the guards spoke. Renfro walked to the guard and glared at him.

"You do realize that I am Colonel Lydecker's superior right?" The room remained silent after she spoke. "Good." Renfro waived her ID in front of the scanner to the right of the door and it opened.

She stepped into the small dimly lit cell to see 398 lying on her side. It took Renfro several seconds to even realize the girl was alive. Kaitlyn was struggling to breathe. Renfro bent down and looked at the young girl whose eyes remained half open staring directly in front of her.

"398." Renfro stated which created no reaction from the girl on the floor. "398." She repeated louder. Kaitlyn's eyes slowly drifted up to reach hers. "You're not telling us everything are you?" Renfro asked.

"I don't know…" Kaitlyn whispered. Her voice broke from how dry her throat was.

"I think you know more." Renfro told her. "Where is 599?" Renfro watched as Kaitlyn closed her eyes as if struggling to remember.

"Who?" She whispered.

"Zack." Renfro said softly. Kaitlyn's eyes welled up with tears at the sound of his name.

"I don't know. I can't remember, I want to remember." The younger girl whispered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you will." Renfro told her.

"Please no more." Kaitlyn whispered. "Please." Renfro smiled at the girl before standing and leaving the cell. As the door shut behind her she turned to the guard next to the door.

"I want her back in pysops in two hours." Renfro told him as she walked away.

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

**San Francisco, California, 2019- Six Days Earlier**

Lydecker walked through the empty San Francisco apartment, or mostly empty. When he had arrived less than fifteen minutes whoever had lived here was long gone. It was clear now that it had been uninhabited for at least several days now. He ran his fingers across the kitchen counter covered in cigarette ash and frowned.

The tip on San Francisco had come from Kaitlyn. Several other credible tips had come from her as well but so far nothing had panned out. _Just like I thought, my kids are smart, they know when to run. _He was pretty sure this apartment had been Jondy's from Kaitlyn's drugged words, but it wasn't confirmed. After a few DNA tests were run of the discarded cigarette butts, and hair from a hairbrush left behind he'd have his answer. For now though he would operate under the assumption that Jondy had lived here.

He made his way into the living room and stopped with his hands in his pockets to examine his surroundings. Two mismatched beat up couches sat in the room, along with a metal folding chair. A small table was also present. Glass bottles were strewn on the floor, and he frowned, knowing that they had once contained alcohol. _Jondy seemed to enjoy a drink or two… or three. _

"Sir!" Sanvadol called out from one of the rooms in the back. He glanced once more at the bottles on the floor before following the sound of the voice.

"What?" He answered when he was several feet from the door to the room. When he entered Sanvadol had several used syringes in a plastic bag.

"Think this will work will work for DNA?" He questioned holding the bag up to Lydecker's eye level. He nodded and looked down at the shoebox at Sanvadol's feet.

"What's that?" He asked gruffly. Sanvadol kicked the lid off and revealed what looked like multiple baggies of cocaine, marijuana, and crack. Lydecker bit his lip.

"The syringes were in with that shit." He told him. "Guess she left in a hurry if she left her stash behind."

"Maybe she isn't an addict." Lydecker supplied. "Maybe she's dealing." Sanvadol kept his glare on him.

"Look at this place Don." He paused. "If she isn't a junkie then she's crazy and we both know what happens when X5s go crazy." It was silent for a minute between the pair as they both thought about 493.

"Just run the DNA and confirm it's her. We can't do anything anyway until we find her."

"Yes sir." With that Lydecker walked out of the apartment, he had seen all he needed to. Jondy, who had had so much potential at Manticore, had become another causality of the post pulse world. She was a lost girl, with nothing to lose.

* * *

**Present**

Kaitlyn could just about keep her eyes open and she was pretty sure at this point that they were frozen, just like the rest of her body. Ice was stuck around clumps of her hair and her hands ached as she attempted to move them. _24 hours in the woods of hell complete. _She thought to herself. _This is getting worse by the second, I've gotta find a way to get in touch with Zack. He's my only hope at this point. _

In front of her the sun set and she shivered at the decrease in temperature. She managed to straighten her legs and bit her lip as she did to keep from screaming out in pain. _Zack… I need you._


	32. Author's Note

Hi Everyone! I have been working on this story for as long as I can remember… I have it mapped out in my head it's just taken for ever to get it all down on paper. I started writing this story when I was 15 years old, nearly ten years ago! So I've been revising this story as I go, wanting to improve it and put my all into it. Watch for updates of older chapters, and new chapters on the way. Comments and reviews are welcomed and encouraged!

Thanks for sticking with me.

Katie


	33. Hell, Part Two

**Gillette, Wyoming, 2019**

The following morning Kaitlyn was so stiff when she woke, she fell from the tree into the snow below. She felt nothing as she landed her body too cold and her mind practically in reverse because of how slow it was working. Her vision was hazy as she gazed at the woods in front of her. Her body again began to shake and she fell into unconsciousness as another seizure began.

* * *

**3 Days Earlier**

The cold cement floor of Kaitlyn's cell had become quite familiar to her. She rolled onto her back trying to ease some of the pain in her arm. Kaitlyn wasn't sure what was going on but in the past few days, the torture had gotten worse. She had seen less of her father and more of Renfro.

Bruises covered her body, some from being beaten and some from the large needles injecting all types of drugs into her. Deep lacerations ran up her arms, she wasn't even sure what they were from, Kaitlyn only remembered the sounds of her screams when it was happening. Her head was pounding from one of the worst headaches she had ever had. She wanted to scream but couldn't even be bothered to, no one would hear her.

One of the guards that had been watching her walked into the room and opened the metal bars to her cell and entered. She knew he was here to take her back to psyops, but she wasn't going today. She had managed to get the most sleep last night she had in weeks, a total of an hour, giving her enough energy to fight him off.

But even in her drug induced haze she saw her opportunity. The soldier had clearly let his guard down, and not seen her practically lifeless body as a threat. Moving as quickly as she could, she stood and shoved him against the metal bars and held his throat in her hand cutting off his windpipe. He fought her, but even in her weakened state she was able to hold him until he passed out.

She listened after she let go of his body for any other guards who may have been outside the door. When she heard nothing she pulled off his jacket. Kaitlyn shrugged it on and grabbed one of the guns he had on him. Her last move was to pull off his ID tag.

She left the room slowly and glanced up and down the hallway before running right. Her legs ached horrible as she moved and her head continued to throb. She fell into one of the walls, struggling to hold herself up. _I have to get out of here…. _

As she limped towards the first set of doors she felt a sharp pain in her stomach which caused her again to fall into the wall. _How the fuck am I ever going to get out of here? I can't even walk. _The thought of having to spend another day being beaten to death passed through her mind. Kaitlyn pushed herself yet again off the wall slowly opened the door and made her way into the hall.

She quietly crept down the hallway and entered the first stairwell she found and made her way to the first floor. Cautiously she opened the stairwell door into the hallway and looked both ways before moving down the corridor. As she pushed the door open to the yard, the cold air nearly stole her breath from her.

* * *

**Present**

"Ma'am?" Renfro's assistant Agent Michael Saunders greeted her as he entered the room. Renfro looked up at him, tired after spending a long night in her office.

"Yes?" She asked looking at the younger hard man in front of her. He had done several tours of duty in the Middle East before coming to work at Manticore.

"I wanted to warn you that Colonel Lydecker will be returning within the hour." Saunders told her. Renfro rubbed her temple not at all surprised by Deck's quick and quiet return to the facility.

"Finish her." Renfro told him. "If possible make it painful." She told him flippantly. "Once she's gone I can cross Kaitlyn Jessica Lydecker off my list of things to worry about." She muttered.

"Yes ma'am." He responded before leaving the room. _Good. _Renfro thought with a smile before returning to her work.

* * *

**3 Days Earlier**

Renfro watched the security camera feed from her office as Kaitlyn struggled through the hallways of Manticore get to the yard. She had purposely reassigned all of the guards Lydecker had placed at Kaitlyn's door. Renfro had wanted her to escape; there was the possibility that she could lead them to an X5. Kaitlyn's usefulness to Renfro was running low. She grinned to herself as she watched 398 finally walk into the yard and head towards the fence. She grabbed her radio.

"All units are to be advised X5-398 is attempting to escape. Proceed to the Northwest corner of the yard."

* * *

**Present**

Kaitlyn's heavy eyes opened and she found herself still lying in the snow. She slowly pushed herself up and leaned against the trunk of the tree. _What happened? How the hell did I end up here down here? _Her short term memory was beginning to fade and she could hardly remember what was happening.

As she again began to drift out of consciousness again, she heard the sound of crunching snow nearby. Kaitlyn looked towards where the noise was coming from and could see a figure walking towards her. _Is that a person or an animal? _It didn't even matter anymore; she knew she didn't have much time left. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the tree trunk.

"398!" She heard a voice yell. Kaitlyn opened her eyes to see one of Renfro's smug assistants standing in front of her. She sat confused trying to figure out why he was here, and why he had no other men with him. _Maybe they know I'm at death's door, they only need one guy to capture me. _

In the midst of her thoughts he pulled out a gun. There was no time for Kaitlyn to react; the sound of the gun firing was heard echoing throughout the woods. She placed her hand on her stomach and felt her warm blood oozing from the wound. Kaitlyn slowly looked up at the man her eyes half closed. The man in front of her stood, arms crossed, gun in hand and a small grin on his face. All that was left was to watch Kaitlyn Jessica Lydecker die.

* * *

**3 Days Earlier**

Kaitlyn grabbed at the fence trying to pull herself up, but she was to weak. She had tried to jump moments earlier and only made it about halfway up the fence. Kaitlyn backed up from the fence trying to think of another way to get out of the yard. Moments later the alarm went off and she knew she was out of time. A panic rushed through her as she realized that she only had one more chance to get this right. Kaitlyn backed up a little more and got a running start at the fence landing close to the top. She managed to pull herself the rest of the way.

"There she is!" One of the guards yelled. _Fuck!_ Using all of her strength she grabbed the top bar of the fence and pushed herself through the barbed wire and over the top of the fence. She hit the ground ten feet below her with a thud and landed on her stomach. Pushing herself up, she took off at a sprint up the hill to the woods. As she ran could feel bullets nipping at her feet.

* * *

**Present**

Donald Lydecker climbed out of the helicopter that had just landed at the roof of the Manticore compound. Of course as he knew before he had left, the past few days had been a waste of time and unsuccessful in recapturing any of his 'kids'. The information Kaitlyn had given would have been useful if there had been some recon done. Instead Renfro had jumped the gun and he was now left with nothing.

Lydecker smiled as he walked across the rooftop to the doorway leading downstairs to see Brandon waiting for him. His son wore a leather jacket, his hands tucked into his jeans. Even at his age, it was still nice to get a surprise visit from his kids.

"What are you doing here?" Lydecker asked as he clapped his hand on Brandon's back. The boy shrugged.

"You told me last night you were coming back this morning, figured I'd say hi." His son answered as one of the guards pulled the door open for them.

"Jesus Christ its cold." Lydecker told him as they climbed down the stairs into the building.

"It's been nearly 0 degrees for the past couple days." Brandon answered as he followed his father through the building.

"Your mother wanted to move to California when we were younger; I got the job here though." Lydecker said with a sigh, running his hands though his hair.

"Could you blame her? How the hell did you break that news to her?" He asked as they walked to the administration wing.

"Over a meal at a 5 star restaurant and some of the finest wine ever made." Lydecker grumbled as his mind drifted to the past. Brandon chuckled from beside him.

"Sir!" Agent Sanvadol's voice interrupted the conversation between the two. Sanvadol had returned to Manticore several days before after they had finished in San Francisco. Lydecker had moved onto the next city without him. Brandon watched as Sanvadol rushed towards the both of them to address his father.

"Yes?" Lydecker questioned stopping in the middle of the hallway, his son beside him. He was in no mood for any bullshit now; he had wasted several days running around the west coast and just wanted some peace.

"Are you aware of the situation regarding X5-398?" Sandoval asked. Both Lydecker and Brandon looked at one another momentarily before looking back at Sandoval.

"What situation?" Lydecker questioned tensely. _I'm gone six fucking days and she's causing problems._

"She escaped sir." His assistant told him. Lydecker took a deep breath and bit his lip. _I left her in a locked cell with 5 guards watching her, how the hell did she manage to escape?!_ He wanted to yell and scream but he remained quiet.

"What?" Lydecker growled, unsure of what else to say.

"When she returned you ordered that she have a tracker installed in her ear canal, its functional sir. She's been out in the woods." Sandoval informed him. Brandon still stood next to his father and rolled his eyes, his father never failed to surprise him. He could see his father wasn't about to make the same mistake twice with Kaitlyn. Lydecker cleared his throat.

"How long has she been out there?"

"Three days, sir. Today is the third." At this news a pin could literally be heard dropping in the hallway.

"Excuse me?" Lydecker snarled. "Three days and I wasn't notified?!" Sanvadol took a step back.

"I think Renfro felt that it would be best if you weren't disturbed." Sandoval said rather sheepishly. Lydecker glared at Sanvadol and considered punching the man but took off down the hallway. Brandon glared at Sandoval a second longer before following his father but Lydecker called back to him.

"Go home Brandon!" He yelled. Brandon watched as his father tore down the hallway.

"Go home my ass." Brandon muttered before turning and walking in the opposite direction. He pulled his gun out of his belt and made his way to the nearest exit. _This isn't a fucking game, this is my sister's life, I'll find her._

* * *

"You bitch!" Lydecker yelled as the doors slid open to Renfro's office. She looked up from her computer to see a very angry Donald Lydecker in front of her.

"Deck, back so soon?" Renfro said smugly.

"How the hell did she escape?" Lydecker questioned. "And why the hell wasn't I notified?!" It took everything he had not to kill this woman right now. This was the final straw. This was his daughter not some random X5 for her to toy with.

"Technically she hasn't escaped; she's still on the grounds. You weren't notified about X5-398 because I felt that it would interfere with recapturing any of the 09ers." She paused. "Which I'd guess didn't happen regardless." Renfro stood up and stepped out from behind her desk.

"It was unsuccessful because instead of sitting on the information like I told you and doing some recon, we went and they were gone." Lydecker yelled. Renfro rolled her eyes and chuckled to herself. He ignored this and went back to yelling at her. "How the hell did she get out there? There were 5 guards watching her." Renfro shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Ask her when you find her." She replied blankly. Lydecker remained silent staring at the woman. Something was wrong here.

"It is close to 0 degrees outside; she can't deal with being out in the cold for that long." He told her.

"Maybe it'll make her talk? Ever think of that?" She said with a sigh and moved in front of Lydecker.

"Did you put her out there?" Lydecker asked his blood boiling as he attempted to piece what was happening together.

"Doesn't matter." She replied. "If she didn't want this life for herself she should have thought about that before she ran off with 599." At her remark, Lydecker slammed Renfro into the wall behind her and she groaned. His forearm was across her neck holding her against the wall as he pulled out his gun and held it to her head.

"You so much as think about my daughter, and I swear I'll kill you." He growled. "Now, where is she?"

"Let go of me and I'll tell you." Lydecker eyed her suspiciously but stepped back. Renfro took a deep breath.

"They've been monitoring her from the yard." Lydecker glared at her for another second and left her office.

Renfro watched him go and the doors shut behind him. She walked over to her desk and picked up the phone. She hit one of the buttons on her speed dial and waited. "Saunders?" She questioned into the receiver. "Finish her." Renfro hung up the phone and sat down in her chair. _Good-bye 398._

* * *

Kaitlyn continued to rest her head against the tree trunk, her vision was beginning to blur and her breaths were getting shorter. She was dying and she knew it. To make it worse Renfro's assistant was just standing there watching her bleed to death. _What the fuck is this guy's problem?_ She thought to herself. _Maybe it will be better if I die all this will be over._ Her thoughts were interrupted by a phone ringing.

"Yeah?" The man grunted as he answered. "Yes, ma'am." He hung up his phone and hooked it back onto his belt. "Well it's been fun 398, good-bye." He raised his gun again and Kaitlyn tensed. Using all of her strength she pushed herself up and grabbed the gun from his hand. She kicked him sending him onto the ground on his back. She fired the gun moments later hitting his chest.

Kaitlyn looked at the man's lifeless body on the ground and tried to catch her breath. Suddenly her adrenal dropped and she fell back against the tree and to the ground. She clutched her stomach where she had been shot and pain began to shoot through her body. She swore loudly and struggled to breathe.

* * *

Lydecker stood at what was now his command post in the Manticore yard. He was livid. Renfro was toying with him, she was up to something. _Stupid fucking bitch I swear to god I'll kill her once I find Kaitlyn. As _Lydecker stood in the yard though he couldn't help but wonder why Kaitlyn hadn't made it to the perimeter fence yet. She had been out in the woods for three days. _What is she waiting for?_

Nothing seemed right, and he couldn't make any damn sense out of it. Suddenly a gunshot echoed through the woods. He tensed his heart pounding. Lydecker grabbed the small computer that was monitoring Kaitlyn's tracking device and checked her location.

"Alpha team on me!" Lydecker yelled as he climbed into the passenger seats one of the waiting humvees, his men following.

* * *

Kaitlyn could do nothing but stare at the body of the lifeless man in front of her. _I killed him. _Was all that echoed through her mind, she was in shock. Her sixth sense kicked in and she could hear several trucks approaching. Kaitlyn gripped the gun in her hand and pushed herself up and took off as fast as she could.

Lydecker arrived just moments after Kaitlyn had run off. The scene in front of him as he climbed out of the truck was far from encouraging. Agent Saunders lay in the snow surrounded by a pool of his own blood. Not far from his body was another spot of blood soaked snow.

His men surrounded him as he crouched down to see if Saunders had a pulse. He wasn't surprised to find that he didn't. Lydecker sighed heavily and waived his hand signaling for his men to follow the footprints to his left. He watched his men take off running before looking back to the scene in front of him.

"Kaitlyn what are you doing?" He whispered under his breath.

* * *

Kaitlyn had taken refuge in a tree about a quarter of a mile from Saunders body. She could hear the sound of approaching footsteps and knew that her only option was to fight. The 4 soldiers stopped directly underneath her as that was where her footprints in the snow ended and looked up at her.

She dropped from the tree and landed on top of one of the soldiers. _1 down 3 to go._ She told herself. Kaitlyn punched one of them in the face and pulled out the gun. She shot one of the soldiers before being kicked in the back. Kaitlyn fell to the ground face first.

She rolled over and found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. She kicked the gun to the side, before pulling her own gun again and shooting him. Kaitlyn pulled herself up, all 4 men lay on the ground around her and everything started spinning, she could just about walk straight. Slowly she began to run again, but the little energy that she had left was disappearing.

Kaitlyn neared a clearing in the woods. She rested her hands on her knees for a moment to catch her breath. Her vision of the snowy ground began to blur. _No, no, no, no. _ She told herself. Very slowly Kaitlyn stood up straight again and gazed around, it seemed ok to move on. She began a slow jog across the clearing before hearing her name being called out.

"Kaitlyn!" She heard her father yell and she spun in his direction and held her gun out pointing it directly at him. Lydecker drew his gun at the same time. She was struggling to stand and was crouched over slightly.

Lydecker looked at his daughter in shock; he was truly speechless at how horrible her condition was. _No wonder she hadn't gotten to the perimeter. _Her hair was in knots, the scrubs she was wearing were dirty, wet and ripped to shreds. She also wore a black Manticore issue jacket for the guards employed at the facility; it was in the same condition as the scrubs.

There were cuts and bruises all over her body. Dark circles were under her eyes from the lasers they used in psyops. When he had left she hadn't looked good, but she looked far better than she did currently.

His eyes were now drawn to the blood dripping from her stomach, she had been shot, and the other pool of blood belonged to her. She had her hand on her stomach and was breathing heavily. She continued to glare at him, the gun still aimed at him. _He did this. He is the reason you are like this. He is the reason all of this has happened. _Her face grimaced in pain but she managed to keep the gun steady.

"Kat?" Lydecker said softly, lowering his gun slightly. "Put the gun down." She shook her head no and grinned darkly.

"I'm not going back there." Her voice cracked. "I'll die first."

"Kaitlyn you need help, I won't let them do anything else to you." Lydecker responded, frustrated with her.

"You did this!" She raged, her eyes on fire. "You did this to me! You have no right to act like you're going to protect me you son of a bitch." She snarled at him. Lydecker stood his gun at his side, and a part of him almost hoped she would shoot him, he deserved it. He remained silent, unsure of what to say to her, knowing her words were true.

Brandon appeared behind Kaitlyn and in her current state she didn't even seem to notice. Brandon moved up behind her and hit her in the back of her head with his gun, wanting to end the standoff as quickly as possible. Her body fell face first into the ground.

Lydecker and Brandon both gazed at the battered girl on the ground, neither making a move for almost a minute. Brandon moved to her first falling on his knees in the snow next to her and rolled her over, pulling off the jacket she had on.

"Holy shit." Brandon muttered, as he took in the sight of deep cuts on her arms and hands, which were now infected. "What the fuck did you do to her?" Brandon demanded as he looked up at his father, pulling his jacket off and wrapping it around her. Lydecker moved to her then, his head shaking as he took in her appearance.

"I wouldn't do this Brandon, she didn't look like this when I left." Lydecker also pulled off his own jacket laying it on top of her. Lydecker grabbed her and held her against his chest. Her body was freezing as Lydecker held her close, her lips were blue and she was shivering.

"We've got to get her inside." Lydecker told his son as he began to head back towards the Humvees. Brandon looked at his father disgusted and shook his head before walking away from him.

Lydecker knew he didn't have time to fight with Brandon. She needed a doctor and she needed one quick. He jogged back to hummer and one of his men jumped in the driver's side and he got in the passenger's side, holding Kaitlyn on his lap.

"Drive." He ordered. The engine roared to life and Lydecker cupped one of his hands around his daughter's cheek. It was ice cold. "Kaitlyn." He said softly. "Kaitlyn." He repeated when he got no response. He tapped the side of her face trying to get some type of response. "Answer me." He whispered as he felt for a pulse. It was weak, very weak. Her eyes opened less than half way and he couldn't help but smile. _She's conscious. _

"Zack." Her voice broke. "I knew you'd come for me." Lydecker closed his eyes, and his heart sank. She was hallucinating and confused. "I wouldn't tell them where you were, I wouldn't tell them anything…" She whispered.

The truck abruptly stopped outside the entrance to the med bay, and he climbed out clutching Kaitlyn as she continued to mumble to herself. Several nurses greeted him gurney which he placed Kaitlyn on. They began to quickly move down the hallway and he walked beside her. The nurses pulled off both jackets that had been wrapped around her discarding them in the hallway. Gauze and pressure was promptly applied to the gunshot wound, and an IV was inserted.

They moved into one of the operating rooms and Lydecker stood to the side and watched. The more Kaitlyn was poked and prodded by the staff the more agitated she became. She began to fight the doctors off until one of them finally grabbed one of her wrists and secured a restraint on it. A blood curdling scream rang through the room and Lydecker pushed one of the nurses aside to get to her. Kaitlyn's hand reached out and grabbed his forearm tightly.

"Don't leave me here." She growled. "Please don't leave me here!" She screamed. One of the doctors quickly injected a sedative into her arm and her grip began to weaken almost immediately. Lydecker looked at her sadly and moved his hand to cover hers.

"It's okay." He whispered. "You're safe." She let go of his arm, and he rubbed her hand in his for a minute before placing it back on the table.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to leave." One of the nurses told him. He nodded numbly and was led from the room. He watched momentarily from one of the observation windows before the blinds on it were shut.

"She's in bad shape." Renfro muttered from beside him. Lydecker looked at her blankly his whole body numb. He should have wanted to kill this woman for what she had done to Kaitlyn but all he wanted was to be alone. Lydecker turned to stare at her.

"I'll kill you if it's the last thing I ever do." He threatened her. "Don't you ever go near my family again." He told her. "I will be going to the committee on this, you not only managed to nearly kill a hybrid X5, but you also jeopardized the recapturing of several X5s." Lydecker quietly walked away, his hands stuffed in his pockets heading towards his office.


End file.
